The Nine Phoenixes Vie for the Throne

Her Majesty the Empress has five children. The eldest princess is the daughter of the Empress and her male consort. The second princess is the daughter of the Empress and her noble consort. The third and fourth princesses are twins, born to Her Majesty and her favorite lover, whom she forced into the palace. Oh, and there is also a little prince with no right to inherit the throne. The noble children raised in the palace also include one niece of the Empress, one adopted daughter, and the daughter of the Empress's former wife and the woman she once loved most. "By that count," said a nonchalant man in green, leading a donkey outside Changwai City, "there are only eight factions, even if you include the prince." Xie Shu sat on the donkey's back and took the last bite of her flatbread. "Then perhaps she forgot about the daughter of the elder princess she once had killed, the one who should have died but didn't." And so she returned, ready to reclaim what she had lost. ★ A tale of women vying for power, as nine princesses fight for the throne. Theme: Seizing power.