Court intrigue and revenge / two formidable women, with the heroine stronger / enemies who love and fight each other / feigned affection mixed with genuine feelings
Cool, wooden heroine x peacock-like treacherous minister hero
*Love at first sight, but with murderous intent.
Xitan was separated from her family as a child and mistakenly entered the Tianji Pavilion, where a twist of fate turned her into an assassin.
She was highly perceptive. Not only did she learn to read and write, she also mastered extraordinary skills.
The Pavilion Master thought highly of her and often entrusted her with important missions. She never let anyone down, completing each one without a trace.
Everyone knew Xitan as the greatest assassin in the martial world, a ruthless killer with blood on her hands. But no one remembered the young Princess Yaoying, Xue Qiongyu, who had disappeared as a child.
One day, the Pavilion Master told her:
Emperor Yongchang had murdered his nephew to seize the throne, and his greatest accomplice was Lu Jiangli, Vice Minister of the Censorate.
She learned that:
He was sinister and ruthless. A trusted confidant of Emperor Yongchang, he had risen to high office at a young age.
Though a civil official, he was both brave and resourceful, with countless deaths to his name. He had once conspired with Emperor Yongchang, back when he was still a prince, to kill the new emperor shortly after his accession.
The murdered emperor had been her brother, born of the same mother.
Cut off his wings, and leave him without support.
To uncover the truth, Xitan decided to make Lu Jiangli her first target.
The imperial capital was full of danger. She played along, inventing a false identity and inching closer to him.
The young man hid a blade behind his smile and kept appearing wherever she went. After several encounters, he saw through her intentions.
One night, Lu Jiangli was already fast asleep.
Xitan slipped into the Lu residence to kill him.
She went straight in, and the residence had no guards. It all seemed far too easy.
But the person in bed stirred and stared at the would-be assassin before him. His lips curved in a faint smile, and his words carried a meaning that was hard to read:
"It has been a long time, Princess Yaoying."
"Actually, rather than serve the emperor, I would much rather serve you, Your Highness."
The hero's perspective:
Throughout Huajing, there are plenty of people who want to kill me. They usually hide in the shadows and wait for a chance to strike, but none has ever succeeded. Most cannot even get through the gates of the Lu residence.
But Xitan is different.
Princess Yaoying is cunning. She knows to pretend to cooperate with an enemy to draw closer, then use the moonlit night to hold me hostage and force me to reveal all the emperor's secrets.
Naturally, I won't tell her.
A-Yu is furious. Again and again, she plots her "Kill Lu Plan," threatening to slaughter everyone in my residence.
That's fine. I'm the only one who lives here anyway.
If A-Yu doesn't mind, she can move in with me.
"After you slaughter everyone in the Lu residence, we can die together."
Xitan / Xue Qiongyu: ???
The hero's inner thoughts: A-Yu doesn't seem to like me calling her A-Yu. What should I do?
Never mind. To be fair, she can call me A-Li.
*The kingdom weighs heavy, yet I cannot betray my love for Jiangli.
A story of feigned affection turning genuine, and two people saving each other.
Reader's note:
1. Both leads have only ever been with each other, and they are each other's first love.
2. Set in an alternate world, with lots of original details. Please don't overanalyze.
3. A career-driven, wooden heroine x a hero who guides his lover. From the heroine's perspective: enemies who love and fight each other, enemies who become spouses. From the hero's perspective: a reunion after years apart, and a long-laid plan.
Note added on July 23, 2026 (screenshot saved)
Theme: The kingdom weighs heavy, yet I cannot betray my love for Jiangli.
