Her birth mother died young, and her father remarried. Tan Jing had only two people to rely on: her maternal grandfather, far away in Jiangnan, and Liang Xin, who lived just across the wall.
They had grown up together, and Liang Xin's birth mother had been close friends with Tan Jing's mother. That made Tan Jing the one person they both cherished most.
When war broke out, Liang Xin promised to come back and marry her. She believed him and waited. And waited, until she received news of his death.
That day, nothing changed. Two days later, an imperial decree arranged her marriage to the Third Prince. She didn't break down. After all, the man marrying her was her closest childhood friend.
On their wedding night, her childhood friend lifted her veil and said with a grin, “Yun Shu.”
That's right. She and her brother were twins, indistinguishable from each other. Her brother hated court life, so she took his place there. He aspired to great things and shared a bond with Liang Xin forged through life and death.
Then she heard that voice again: “Jingjing.”
Her long-silent heart finally began to beat again.
Tan Jing secretly devised strategies while the three of them put them into practice, sidelining the other princes and taking control of the court and the frontier. The emperor offered no resistance. Everything went far too smoothly.
On the day the emperor was dying, he seemed to rally for a moment and said with a smile, “You truly are my child.”
The imperial edict was in her hands, but the person beside her had left.
Was it an emperor's suspicion, or a loyal subject's betrayal?
Content warnings: amateurish political scheming, a touch of ensemble cast, no equal treatment for the supporting characters, the male lead is reborn but it isn't described much. I'll add more if I think of anything.
Theme: Working together to build a future
