Before the palace gates, the young emperor knelt with his ministers and surrendered the imperial seal to the rebel army.
Behind the rebel leader, the girl sitting on horseback jumped down. "Father, spare his life. Let the world see your benevolence."
The imperial seal was brought before Liu Zheng. Liu Yu walked up to Ji Heng and bent down to look at his lowered face. "You won't die. Lead us into the palace."
Ji Heng looked up and met her lively eyes, then lowered his gaze. "As you wish."
Liu Yu followed him and was the first to step through the palace gates, ahead of the army.
Ji Heng thought Liu Yu's kindness toward him came from the compassion of a kindhearted girl. He could not accept the pity her status afforded him, nor could he bear the humiliation of his kingdom's fall.
But in the depths of the palace where he was imprisoned, she was the only one who came to see him and protected him from abuse. Only when she visited would the palace attendants treat him like a person.
She had a male favorite by her side, yet she still claimed him as her own. He could not tell whether she was taking him or offering herself to him.
His feelings were hazy and confused: a muddle of affection, survival, exploitation, and hope.
She was given in marriage to the Marquis of Jianliang.
After a long time without seeing her, he thought he would die in the depths of the palace.
But she returned to the palace to visit him again.
Later, he heard that the Marquis of Jianliang had died. She had become a widow.
Liu Yu secretly arranged the Marquis of Jianliang's murder, then used her father's guilt to inherit her late husband's fief and military power. She knew Ji Heng's situation inside out, and had even secretly protected the informants who kept him in contact with the outside world.
The remnants of the old dynasty had always dreamed of restoring their kingdom. From the very first time she met Ji Heng, she had wanted to make it happen.
Why couldn't she have a share of her father's empire?
Why did she have to be married off like a bargaining chip?
She secretly stirred up a struggle for power between her brothers. No one saw her, a princess, as a threat.
Her eldest brother killed her second brother. When the truth came out and there was no way to cover it up, he forced their father to abdicate. Ji Heng took advantage of the chaos and led troops into the palace, hoping to restore his kingdom.
She leisurely led her own forces into the palace, cutting down the rebels as she walked over corpses. In the chaos, her eldest brother, driven into a corner, killed their father, while Ji Heng, waiting in the wings, killed her eldest brother.
Liu Yu stood before Ji Heng and impassively stabbed him with her sword. "You are a rebel. Now meet your death."
She would claim the throne cleanly, with a great deed to her name.
Ji Heng awoke, gravely wounded, in a hidden chamber deep within the palace. His hands were tied to the bed frame, and he gazed at Liu Yu with reddened eyes.
Liu Yu looked at him calmly. "Awake, Huaixian? Your name is A Wei now. You're my male favorite."
A note: Gender-bender, male lead is sexually inexperienced
Theme: My desires are no different from yours, and neither are my methods.
