The Female Emperor's Daily Records

One-sentence summary: From a young, helpless crown princess to the empress who brings about the Great Qi dynasty's revival. Powerful ministers hold sway, and the imperial house is in decline. Princess Rong'an, Xiao Qi, has no great ambitions in life. She only hopes to marry an easy-to-handle young man when she comes of age, then surround herself with beauties in her princess's residence and indulge in pleasure to her heart's content. The late emperor was frail and sickly. When he suddenly died, he had only one child, a daughter. Xiao Qi was supported to the throne and became Great Qi's first empress. But being a puppet empress is no easy task. Xiao Qi knows when to yield and when to stand firm, and calls Chancellor Xie, the powerful minister, her "adoptive father." Her adoptive father smiles while hiding a knife, and her adoptive brother is cruel and capricious. Xiao Qi starts missing her days as a princess, and remembers that she once had a prospective consort from the Cui family. Xiao Qi leaves the palace in disguise and finds Cui Can on a sacred mountain outside the city, where she also meets a handsome young man. Reader advisory: The heroine is the focus of this story. Readers who favor the male lead or male supporting characters should be aware, and those with excessively high expectations of the heroine should steer clear. There are two male leads and one villainous male supporting character. The timeline does not repeat, and the story ends with one couple, in accordance with the site's rules. There is sweetness and angst, and the career storyline is upward-moving, but this is not an indulgent power fantasy. Theme: Love isn't everything.