The Bandit Queen

Xie Chen was once the revered Crown Prince of the dynasty. But with a foolish ruler on the throne and a wicked consort bringing ruin to the kingdom, he was stripped of his position overnight and exiled to the northwest.

Exile was bad enough, but with luck against him, he was captured and dragged back to a bandit stronghold to become the husband of a crude bandit.

As his pride was ground into the dirt, an advisor secretly sent word urging him to endure for now and put the greater good first.

Watching a monkey-like figure bounce along the mountain road ahead, he sheathed his blade, the corner of his lips curling into a cold, cruel smile.

For the greater good, he would compromise and marry the bandit woman.

By day, he smiled with the warmth of jade. At night, he disdainfully tossed aside his crudely made wedding robes. Even when served a suspicious, possibly poisonous dish he'd never seen before, something called "lobster hot pot," he ate it without changing his expression.

When his health recovered and his plans were in place, he set out to crush the bandit stronghold. But then he realized there was something different about the place.

The food was different. The lodgings were different.

Even the young bandits were disciplined, fierce as an army.

And then there was his wife...

Xie Chen looked toward the stronghold. A clear, flowing female voice rang out: "Counter-surveillance means teaching us how to use the terrain to conceal ourselves perfectly when facing the enemy..."

She was... training scouts!

This wasn't a bandit stronghold at all. It was a case of misfortune turning into good fortune.

-

One day, Chen Yin went down the mountain for a stroll and came across a handsome gentleman being beaten and cursed at by the guards escorting him into exile. Seeing how broken he looked, she felt a pang of pity (and an evil impulse).

With a gleam in her eye, she orchestrated a bandit attack and took him back to the stronghold to be her husband.

Only later did she learn that he was none other than the Crown Prince, a man revered by all.

Thinking of how she'd been riding roughshod over him lately, Chen Yin was left reeling. Afraid he'd have her head, she hurriedly wrote him a divorce letter overnight, listing all her wrongs and hoping the Crown Prince would be magnanimous.

Xie Chen reclaimed the northwest and hurried back to the stronghold, travel-worn, only to be greeted with a divorce letter.

He laughed in sheer fury.

Just wonderful.

(The blurb-writing is beyond me, so please bear with this for now.)

Aloof, disgraced Crown Prince x bold, straightforward female bandit

- Married first, love later. She pursues him at first, then he pursues her.

- The heroine was born into this world, is doted on by everyone in the bandit stronghold, and fights with two sabers.

- Fictional setting, with a mountain of original worldbuilding.

Theme: Keep striving to live, and life will blossom.