The Princess Says She Wants to Become Empress

I'm busy in real life, so updates will be irregular for a while. Sorry.

Serious blurb:

Before she turned five, the Fifth Princess was always called Little Fifth. Back then, all she wanted was simple: enough to eat and a name of her own.

Later, she left Yanxi Palace and was given the name Xi.

People can never be satisfied. Chu Xi began wanting more.

She was well-behaved, sharp, quick-witted, and sensible. From an invisible girl whose birth mother was low-ranking and died young, she became the emperor's beloved daughter, whom he spoke of every day. It was no exaggeration to say she was adored.

What was more, Consort Shu, one of the Four Consorts, offered to become her mother and register her under her name.

With status and favor both in hand, Chu Xi was finally somewhat content.

Until the year she turned seven, when the Second Princess, also beloved by the emperor, was sent to marry into another country. As Chu Xi watched the grand procession leave Great Zhou, she suddenly realized that affection alone was not enough.

She could no longer be satisfied with that.

When she first began her studies, the Fifth Princess read the line "Women admire chastity, men emulate talent and virtue" in the Thousand Character Classic and wondered: why couldn't it be the other way around?

Now, Chu Xi looked at the First Prince, a man of mediocre ability who thought far too highly of himself and already acted like the heir to the throne, and wondered: why couldn't he be the one sent to marry abroad?

Or, if someone like him could become a king or emperor, why couldn't she take his place?

On the day of the palace coup, as blades flashed and shouts of slaughter rang out, Chu Xi calmly unfolded the imperial edict and ground the ink herself. "Everyone has a duty to execute the traitors and rebels. Second Imperial Brother, there's no need to thank me. Father, please."

The Fifth Princess, Chu Xi, became the first empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty. She changed the era name to Chuyuan, opened the imperial examinations to all, and allowed women to inherit noble titles and take the civil service exams. From then on, men and women served together at court, each fulfilling their duties.

History would call it the Chuyuan Golden Age.

Lighthearted blurb:

The year Chu Xi came of age, the young general Xiao Jin'an won a great victory. When the news reached the capital, the emperor was delighted and arranged a marriage between his beloved daughter, the Fifth Princess, and General Xiao.

Oh, right. She was that Fifth Princess.

Rumor had it that Xiao Jin'an had a beloved woman, and that he had refused to marry even at twenty because of her.

After the imperial decree was issued, Chu Xi, the target of everyone's pity and ridicule, wondered: could it be that I am the woman he loves?

Xiao Jin'an: Could it be that I'm Hua Mulan, disguised as a man and taking my brother's place in battle?

(Just kidding. Their relationship is purely that of ruler and subject. She is indeed his beloved, but not in a romantic way. She is his ideal.)

No one knew that before Xiao Jin'an took her brother's place and became a general who expanded the borders, she had briefly crossed paths with the Fifth Princess.

Back then, she was still Xiao Wannian, and her mother kept her on the path of a dignified, well-mannered young lady. Her greatest frustration was being forbidden to study military strategy. But one day, while accompanying her brother outside, she met a spirited young girl on the training grounds, holding a bow and arrow.

The girl drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and shot a flying goose. Then she said to the person beside her, "Is it that hard? Look, I can do everything men can do, and I can do it even better."

Later, Xiao Wannian became Xiao Jin'an, and watched as the girl realized her ambitions step by step and ascended to the highest throne.

From then on, her lifelong wish was to serve as the girl's general, expanding her borders and subduing the surrounding lands.

Reader's guide:

1. This is a completely fictional setting. The author makes all the rules. If you find them unreasonable or can't accept them, please leave early so we can all have a good time.

2. The general is not the male lead. The male lead transmigrates (this will be mentioned later). The main focus is the plot, and the romance is minimal.

3. The heroine is not a truly kind and virtuous person. She is very calculating and ambitious. I personally like ambitious girls.

4. Feel free to point out typos, but please don't report content that has been blocked.

(Please add it to your collection, pretty please~)

(I changed the premise. I couldn't write the original romance-focused version, so I've moved it to the old story as an extra. Sorry.)

Upcoming story blurb

"I Rose to Power After Becoming a Runaway Slave"

When other people transmigrate, they inherit the original person's family background, looks, and talents. At worst, they at least inherit a normal identity.

When Jiang Ke transmigrated, she inherited the original person's contract of servitude and a band of pursuers, and found herself repeatedly teetering on the brink of death. After temporarily escaping the hunt, she discovered she had been reborn in another era, one that did not exist in the history books.

It was a time of chaos: the dynasty was collapsing, feudal lords had carved up the land, and warlords vied for supremacy.

What, you ask, does all this have to do with Jiang Ke?

A great deal. She, a runaway slave being hunted down, became the city lord of Yuecheng, one of the rival warlords.

The original family's lives had been traded for the original owner's two extra hours of life. They had done nothing wrong. They were simply too weak, too easy to bully, and unable to fight back.

So she came, and she would fight back for them.

The warlords vie for supremacy, but what have the common people done to deserve this? The world is so cruel, the law has collapsed, and justice is nowhere to be found. Jiang Ke does not ask for much. She only wants a measure of fairness.

At first, Jiang Ke only wanted to survive, take revenge, prove herself, and risk everything.

Later, as she gazed upon the magnificent land and looked at the strategists, generals, and countless people who supported her, she changed her mind.

She could take the Central Plains and establish a new legal system, too.

History records: "Jiang Ke, founding empress of Great Chu, rose from humble beginnings to achieve an unprecedented feat. Never again would Great Chu see her like."

Lighthearted blurb:

Jiang Ke transmigrated, and unfortunately, she was being hunted and was nearly dead.

Luckily, she had a magical chat group. The group itself was nothing special, but every member was extraordinary.

Empress Dowager Xuan, Empress Lu, Empress Wu... A host of remarkable women from history were in the group. With their help, Jiang Ke managed to escape.

Then, when the warlords began vying for supremacy, she joined in, too. The big names in the group fell silent: If she can do it, how can we afford to fall behind?

(I haven't figured out the details yet. That's roughly the story; I'll revise it later.)

Theme: Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born to their stations?