The Marquis Slayer

[Blurb replacement. ↓ This is the new blurb I'm going to write. I'm not using the old one anymore. Deleting the current blurb is a hassle, so please collect it if you're not interested. Sorry for the trouble, and a bow of thanks] In the first year of Kangye, rebel forces stormed the imperial city. The Yong'an Marquis, the emperor's most trusted man, opened the palace gates with his own hands and welcomed the rebels inside. The emperor killed himself. The empress hanged herself. All that remained was Princess Leyang, trembling in terror as she faced the rebels. Princess Leyang was the most beloved princess. Beautiful as a flower, innocent and spoiled, she had been raised in the palace for fifteen years. With a single word, she had once brought about the appointment and dismissal of a crown prince. All under heaven knew her as a calamity who ruined the realm, the source of chaos. The rebel leader had Princess Leyang bound to the city gate tower, branded and marked her face, then read out more than a hundred charges against her. The Yong'an Marquis personally forced poison down her throat, ran her through the chest with a sword, and pushed her from the tower. With the calamity dead, a new emperor could be crowned. The new occupants of the grand gates continued to revel in song and dance. Only a few people woke from nightmares night after night, haunted by a pair of eyes boiling with hatred. Ten years passed. In a county town on the empire's frontier, a woman rose to her feet and gazed toward the distant imperial capital. Her face was scarred, her hands calloused, and her youthful softness was gone. Only a calm expression, deep as the sea, remained. The woman held a sword in one hand and a flask of wine at her waist. When she spoke, her voice was as hoarse as the frontier's windblown sand. She said, "My sword is sharpened. I must be on my way." A petty thief is executed, while one who steals a nation becomes a feudal lord. She refused to accept this. She spent ten years forging a sword to execute lords. She would execute the marquis. The towering Phoenix Terrace was never my desire; let the White Jade Tower collapse upon me. In years past, we were flesh for the blade; today, I become the sword that slays kings and lords! Theme: All people are equal under heaven