The Great Zhou Dynasty's Number One Manager

[Strategic polo team manager x irreverent genius from a noble family]

On the day her father and elder brother were imprisoned, an imperial edict catapulted Pei Xunmu from a low-ranking horse-keeper's post to the position of Director of the Polo Office.

Whether it was a blessing or a disaster, people laughed, wondering how a woman who had never even touched a polo mallet could lead a team to defeat the enemy nation's renowned, powerful squad. She had no time to tell which it was. All she could do was travel to Ningzhou and take up her post.

The vast polo grounds lay dormant in the center of Ningzhou, deserted and forgotten.

She stood amid the weeds, taking stock of all the cards in her hand.

The team was divided? Then she'd clean house and turn their rivalries to her advantage, forcing noble sons and military players who couldn't stand one another to hold their noses and fight side by side.

Running out of money? Then she'd join forces with the merchants' guild and turn the polo matches no one cared about into Ningzhou's celebrated trademark, filling the government coffers, building grandstands, and bringing in famous steeds.

The organization was a mess? Then she'd rewrite the rules and clarify responsibilities, giving everyone in the office a clear procedure and a role of their own.

Under her leadership, the long-rusted behemoth began to turn again.

Some called her unrealistic. Others said she had no scruples.

But she never stopped thinking about the day of the final showdown. She never let up for a moment.

Yet she said she was the most straightforward of them all.

"You can keep thinking I'm scheming and scrambling for every advantage."

She only wanted to win.

But beneath all the glitter and pageantry, Pei Xunmu had stepped into a web of deeply entrenched interests. She'd once thought she could make use of everything around her and ride the momentum to the top. She never realized she was a pawn too, until she was already in too deep to escape.

And the nobleman who had once been so irreverent and content to stay out of everything had, at some point, cast aside his family name and taken his place at her side.

Theme: Never give up. Find a way through when all seems lost.