Ambitious princess x lovesick chancellor
When Yang Huan was eight, her elder brother died suddenly of an illness. Her father was gravely ill and unlikely to have any more children, leaving the throne without an heir. The emperor, grieving for his lost son, gazed at his pair of twins for a long time without speaking.
In the history books, that was the year Princess Yang Huan died young, while Crown Prince Yang Huan recovered after a three-day fever.
From the day she took her place in the Eastern Palace, Yang Huan had no more girlish dreams.
She did not live for her elder brother, who had died young. She lived for herself.
One day, she would appear in the history books openly and honorably as Yang Huan, Emperor of Dazhao.
Even a daughter could be entrusted with the empire.
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Crown Prince Yang Huan was diligent, virtuous, and benevolent. The court was devoted to him, the people supported him, and he was destined to become a great ruler who would usher in a new golden age. Everyone knew this, whether in court or out of it, even five-year-old children.
Lu Yuan, the eldest son of a family that had produced chancellors for three generations, knew this better than most.
He also knew that if not for the upheaval back then, Princess Yang Huan would have been his wife.
He should have held her hand and shared a loving life with her. Now, all he could do was kneel before his ruler beneath the Golden Throne Hall.
She wanted to become an empress whose name would live on in history, and he was willing to be her blade.
-[A little scene inspired by the premise]
On the day of the palace coup, Lu Yuan had been at his provincial post for almost three years.
When he heard the news, he returned to the capital for the first time without requesting permission. Marquis Lu locked him in the family shrine and lashed him again and again, from midnight until dawn.
"When you studied and entered government service, was it for the people of the realm, or for the one in the palace?" Marquis Lu demanded, heartbroken.
At the time, Lu Yuan's back burned with whip wounds. After a long silence, he unsteadily rose, walked out of the shrine, left the marquis's residence, and headed for the imperial palace.
The realm she ruled now, and the princess he had once known, were both what he held closest to his heart.
November 9, 2023
Theme: I want to try writing a heroine who climbs to the very top of power.
