Chronicles of the Third Year of Jinghe

Difficult Princess vs. calculating minister

Everyone at court knows that the Eldest Princess and Chancellor Yan have a deep, deep, deep-seated grudge...

At first, Yan Xitang came third in the palace exam. At the Qionglin Banquet, Princess Linlang made a fool of him, turning him into a laughingstock.

Yan Xitang became a Hanlin Academician and entered the palace to lecture. He seized the chance to get back at Princess Linlang, making her a laughingstock in turn.

And so their feud began...

Later, Princess Linlang pulled a little trick, and Yan Xitang was banished to the provinces, where he became a petty official in Lingnan.

Yan Xitang retaliated by having the princess's favorite servant beaten to death.

From then on, whenever they met, they went for each other's throats...

Later, Yan Xitang rose steadily through the ranks, enjoying a smooth and successful career and a harmonious marriage.

But Princess Linlang accidentally got his newlywed wife killed.

Yan Xitang, in turn, accidentally terrified the princess's unmarried consort into a broken state.

From then on, they were sworn enemies...

Later still, Ye Mingke became the Eldest Princess and regent, while Yan Xitang became the chief minister.

At court, the assembled officials never knew what to do:

If Chancellor Yan said yes, the princess said no.

If the princess said right, Chancellor Yan said left.

From then on, the court was plunged into misery, and the people suffered...

She called him a treacherous power-grabber; he called her a foolish, incompetent ruler.

She called him a wolf who would steal the nation; he called her a worm rotting it from within.

She said he was putting on airs; he said she was utterly dishonest.

She said he was exactly the kind of man she hated most, and that even if he were the last man on earth, she would never go after him.

Then he said...$%^(&*$%%&*)_(__++

She didn't catch what he said.

When she asked again, he said his mouth had cramped.

In short, a passing fondness is like a white dog in the clouds, while deep love is like a long wind.

Even if you love someone desperately and ache with longing, you still have to stubbornly deny it, insisting to your dying breath that you'll never say those three words...

In a nutshell: The treacherous minister and I have a history too long to record

Coming soon: After the Eldest Princess's Rebellion Fails

Previously on...

Mu Xihe was the daughter of the Northern Marquis of Xi.

When she was seventeen, war broke out in the north. Her father and brothers were killed, but she rescued the emperor, who had personally led his troops, from among a vast army.

She returned to the imperial capital with the emperor and became the Eldest Princess of Beiyao.

After five or six years at the emperor's side, power was at her fingertips. She gradually grew more and more brazen, and by the time the emperor died, the Eldest Princess of Beiyao had gained control of the palace, kept the officials in check, and sealed off the imperial city. She could decide for herself who would become the next emperor.

The late emperor had two sons. One was twenty-one and always glared at her, never once smiling. The other was just seventeen, looked up to her, and was still a bright-eyed, sunny young man.

Naturally, she preferred the younger one. He was close to her and easier to control.

But one careless move could ruin everything!

Everything was ready, and the new emperor was about to take the throne before the late emperor's coffin when the elder son, Crown Prince Mu Zhao, stormed into the palace with the Qingfeng Sword in hand, drenched in blood,

striding forward through the flames.

Theme: Find out what your heart truly wants