Xie Qingchen is the only daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an, but her mother feared her mother-in-law would urge her husband to take concubines, so she raised Xie Qingchen as a son, dressing her as a boy from childhood.
At sixteen, she sat the imperial examinations and, by sheer accident, came third. The emperor was delighted and appointed her an investigating censor.
Holding the imperial decree, Xie Qingchen nearly wept. From then on, she would have to attend court every day and face Xiao Huaian, the regent feared by every official in the court.
On the surface, Xiao Huaian is gentle as jade, but in truth he is ruthless. Xie Qingchen is terrified of him. Every time they meet, she showers him with flattery, ready to bend whichever way she has to just to stay alive.
But as she keeps buttering him up, she realizes something is wrong.
The regent's gaze grows stranger by the day. When someone tries to arrange a match for her, he scowls. When she says one extra word to someone else, he turns cold. When she leaves his study, he stands in the doorway watching her walk away...
Xie Qingchen panics: My lord, I'm a man!
Xiao Huaian panics, too: How could I have fallen for a young man?!
The whole court is trying to guess: What exactly is going on between the regent and the third-place graduate?
Xie Qingchen just wants to cry out to the heavens: I haven't even been exposed yet, and the regent has already turned gay. How am I supposed to live like this?!
[Disguised as a man + hilarious antics + political intrigue + older man/younger woman + sweet romance + possessive pursuit]
Theme: She hides her identity to stay alive; he hides his ambition to seize the throne. The two best actors in the world just can't keep up the act in front of each other.
