The Empress's Son Covets Me in Secret

Beautiful, strong, and battle-ready Dragon-Ao protagonist heroine vs. an infatuated, secretly pining, gloomy male ghost of a hero. A heroine everyone adores, and a hero who is humble, secretly in love, and looks up to her. Set in an emperor’s court, not a matriarchal society. My mother was the first empress of Great Zhou. She raised an army in a time of chaos and conquered the realm, winning unparalleled military glory. She killed her father and brother to seize the throne. My elder sister is the Grand Princess Who Guards the Nation. She has her own princely residence, ranks alongside the Three Excellencies, has been entrusted with regency, and oversees the Secretariat, with countless officials under her command. My mother has always wanted my sister to succeed her, and my sister is eager to inherit her glory. Without a word, the two of them sharpen their knives and turn their eyes toward me, bleating like a lamb for the slaughter. What does it feel like to be emperor? I have no idea. I'm more concerned with where Li Lang has gone off to carouse this time. After those sour old scholars had nagged me about it so much, even I couldn't help asking Li Lang. Li Lang laughed so hard she nearly toppled off her horse. With a teasing flick of her whip, she tipped up my chin and looked me over, then just grinned and said, “Little kitten, just settle down and be my groom. You wouldn't know what to do with anything else.” I thought so too. Li Lang was determined to become the marshal of all the armies under heaven. If I became her groom, we could stay together forever. So I nodded, agreeing to her arrangement. But Li Lang broke her promise. Liar. I hate her so much, that big liar. I have to make Li Lang regret it. I'll make her bow her head and apologize, then choose between me and my elder sister all over again. She still chose my sister. I was furious. But then she came over and kissed me. Somehow, I felt a lot calmer. “Wait,” Li Lang asked, looking utterly baffled. “Do you really hate your sister that much? I'm your sister too... Come on, be good and stop making a fuss. You're just not cut out to be emperor. Go wash up and get some sleep.” Suddenly, tears welled up in my eyes. Li Lang hurried to comfort me, flustered and scrambling. I angrily shoved her away and demanded coldly, “My elder sister promised me that no matter what happened, she would always stand in front of me, protect me, and cherish me. She didn't care who I was, who my father was, what my status was, or whether I was some mixed-blood Hu... Are you like that too?” Li Lang looked utterly exasperated and muttered, “How old are you, still going on and on about those things you said when you were little? You've got me. I'm not, I'm not worthy, all right?” I started crying again, furious. Li Lang was so fed up she wanted to storm off, but in the end she stood there with a pained, headache-ridden look as I cried, helplessly saying, “Your Majesty, I can't win either way. If I say I am, that's wrong; if I say I'm not, that's wrong. So which am I?” I was still angry and wanted to snap back, but I knew Li Lang had a fierce temper. If I kept pushing, I'd lose everything, so I swallowed my anger, sniffed, and said quietly, “I can't be emperor anymore...” Li Lang: . “You have to make it up to me somehow,” I said, twisting bashfully. “You can't leave me with nothing after I paid such a price...” “May I ask,” Li Lang said, completely confused, “where is this wife of yours?” I gazed at her coyly and said nothing. “Wait, do you like me?” Li Lang was stunned. “But we can't. I'm your sister...” My expression turned cold as I denied it outright. “No, you're not.” Faced with my stubbornness, Li Lang was at her wits' end. “His Majesty won't agree...” “Right,” I said expressionlessly. “I'm the new emperor's thorn in her side, the one she can't bear to have around. What should we do? Maybe the new emperor should get rid of me. I'm the most expendable one anyway. If you don't pull up the roots, they'll grow back when the spring breeze blows...” Li Lang gave in. I heard the new emperor flew into a rage over it, but who cares what she thinks? As far as I'm concerned, Li Lang and I were made for each other. She doesn't know who her father is, and neither do I. Her mother and mine were lifelong close friends. If I'd arrived a little sooner, perhaps we could even have been betrothed as babies back then. Of course, growing up together as childhood sweethearts, innocent and inseparable, just like we are now, is wonderful too. ❤ The blurb is told in the first person from the male lead's perspective (the male ghost), while the main story is told in the third person from the heroine's perspective. The male lead appears in Chapter 5. Theme: Even after learning the vastness of the world, one can still cherish the green of every blade of grass.