Has the Grand Princess Usurped the Throne?

Before the late emperor of the Wu Dynasty passed away, he appointed three regents for the new emperor. The first was the Marquis of Yingchuan, who was executed for rebellion when the new emperor was twelve.

The second was Liu Fuying, Vice Minister of the Imperial Censorate, who lived up to his reputation as a worthy official during the new emperor's reign and rose step by step to become chancellor.

The third was Princess Changle, Wei Shihuan. As a princess, she held the reins of government and threatened imperial authority, becoming the court's greatest scourge after the Marquis of Yingchuan.

Everyone knew that Liu, the chancellor with the bearing of a gentle breeze and bright moon, and Princess Changle, who ruled with an iron fist, were mortal enemies at court. They all waited to see whether Liu would eliminate the dynasty's threat or Princess Changle would seize the throne and purge the old guard.

Yet one day, when Wei Shihuan was in danger after being drugged in an ambush, Liu Fuying happened to find her.

Wei Shihuan: You can be the antidote.

Liu Fuying: ...All right.

The next day, when the two met, they were as hostile as ever, blades drawn and tensions simmering beneath the surface.

Still, when Wei Shihuan saw how uncomfortable the other woman looked standing in the summer heat, she couldn't help sending her a little ice chest.

Colleague: Your Highness is so clever. Chancellor Liu can't refuse and has no choice but to accept your kindness. She must be seething inside.

Wei Shihuan: ...Yes. Just as I intended.

So there are perks to being political enemies. Even when you do something nice for the other person, everyone assumes you're just trying to get under her skin.

Before court, Liu Fuying found Wei Shihuan and thanked her with an air of calm indifference. "Thank you, Your Highness."

Wei Shihuan returned the same cool smile, but inwardly scoffed: Heh. You think I don't know it was you? Pretending yesterday never happened, are you? Let's see how long you keep up the act.

P.S. If you notice that a character in this story shares a name with a supporting character from one of my old stories, it's because this author is terrible at naming people and didn't want to waste names she worked so hard to come up with before...

Theme: There will always be someone willing to walk by your side.