Like the Everlasting Moon

In the waning years of the Chong Dynasty, the land was in turmoil. Heroes rose up everywhere, all vying to rule the realm.

The Qin clan began as bandits, but in just a few short years, they became one of the most formidable forces among the various rebel armies. Everyone said it was because Qin had a remarkable daughter.

Qin Yi excelled in both the civil and military arts and was capable of anything. The Xingye Army under her command was invincible, winning every battle.

But during the campaign, her father fell gravely ill and died. In his final decree, he passed the throne to his son, appointing Qin Yi only as regent.

Simply because Qin Yi was a woman.

A hen could never herald the dawn. Even though she had led the army that won nearly all the realm, there was simply no way she could be allowed to become supreme ruler.

On the vast plains, a young strategist bowed deeply to her:

"The only ruler Song Xuan has ever acknowledged, from beginning to end, is Your Highness."

Song Xuan, head of Qiwushu Academy, had earned a fine reputation from a young age. She was insightful and decisive, able to care for the people and safeguard the realm, with students all over the land.

She was the chief strategist of the Xingye Army, and in the eyes of the world, a leading figure among the scholars of her age.

Yet the world did not know that this "leading scholar" had a great secret. After concealing it for years, an accident finally allowed Qin Yi to uncover it.

It turned out they were alike.

Before long, Qin Yi presented Song Xuan with a woman's formal robe and hairpins.

Beside the flickering candlelight, the young general made her a solemn promise:

"Since you were born a woman, would you be willing to wear these clothes one day and stand at the pinnacle of the court, at the head of all the officials?"

Reader's Guide (Very Important):

1. A long novel with an ensemble cast, plot-focused, with romance as a secondary element.

2. The setting is fictional, inspired by the kind of chaotic era seen during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The characters and factions in the story mostly have no historical counterparts; only a very small number were inspired by real figures, and many of the details are made up by me.

3. The couple's dynamic starts out as a peerless warrior x strategist, and later becomes founding empress x founding chancellor. The early and middle parts focus on fighting wars and unifying the realm; the later part focuses on governing the country and bringing peace.

4. One of them disguises herself as a man, but they fall in love only after learning the other's sex. She resumes her female identity in the first half of the story.

5. The story takes place a hundred years after The Blade's Song, and is the second book in the Chongjing trilogy. However, it is a completely different story from the previous book, so you can read this one on its own.

Theme: Throughout the long river of history, women too can shine like the sun and moon, illuminating all the ages.