Dugu Jingyao X An Qingxu: The Lone Phoenix

This story is inspired by Bilibili creator Zhiyu Xin's video, "The Sole Phoenix // The Chaos of Hua: Dugu, fierce, ruthless, and toxic." av43614303 The video is incredibly intense and fierce. Watching it gets your blood pumping! It's so good, so good! The color grading and the story are both fantastic. I asked for permission a long time ago, but only recently picked up my pen to write this. Complete. Comments and bookmarks are welcome! First, a few content warnings: 1. The male lead is An Qingxu, but Dugu Jingyao doesn't like anyone. She [only loves herself]. This isn't a romance, but I had to select the romance category because pure love wasn't an option. (⊙﹏⊙) 2. There is a [girls' love storyline] in which the characters sleep together. If that bothers you, don't click. 3. Some details are invented for the sake of the plot and are [wildly different from history]. If you've made it this far, welcome! Here's the plot summary. Feel free to watch the video first, or watch it after reading. Plot: Dugu Jingyao, daughter of the King of Yunnan, is decisive and ruthless. An Qingxu, a prince of Great Yan, is just as merciless. The two are engaged, but Dugu doesn't want to marry An Qingxu. One day, Li Chu, the crown prince of Great Tang, is out enjoying himself with his crown princess, Shen Zhenzhu. Dugu sees them and makes a bet with An Qingxu: she'll make Shen Zhenzhu fall in love with her. If Dugu wins, An Qingxu will find a way to break off their engagement. Dugu arranges to have Shen Zhenzhu kidnapped, then stages a heroic rescue. She also sends someone to drug Li Chu, who loses his senses and sleeps with someone else. Thinking Li Chu has abandoned her, Shen Zhenzhu is heartbroken... The person Li Chu slept with is one of his father's consorts. The emperor flies into a rage and strips Li Chu of his position. Dugu confesses her feelings to Shen Zhenzhu, who, dazed and confused, goes along with her. Afterward, Shen Zhenzhu is captured. Dugu tells her that everything was part of her scheme, then kills her. The emperor of Great Yan wants to eliminate the Dugu clan. An Qingxu volunteers for the mission. Remembering everything the emperor has done to him, he joins forces with Dugu to seize the throne. An Qingxu wants to make Dugu his empress. On their wedding day, Dugu launches a coup, saying that An Qingxu cannot give her what she wants. (This part isn't very consistent. Earlier, An had already said the whole realm belonged to Dugu. Never mind, maybe Dugu thinks the realm can belong to only one person.) In the end, Dugu Jingyao ascends the throne. Message: