The Princess Does as She Pleases

Coming soon: After the Great General Brings Home a Green Tea Girl. Please add it to your favorites (starry-eyed).

Changle is a fallen princess who only wants to marry the man she loves, Young Lord Lu, and escape the cold imperial palace. Instead, her reputation is ruined, and she dies disfigured, while Young Lord Lu marries her younger sister.

Reborn, she is determined to avoid the same fate and get revenge. She throws herself into the arms of Xiao Tan, the Marquis of Jingwu, who holds power over the court, and gazes at him with tearful eyes as she calls, "Cousin."

**

Xiao Tan is as aloof and cool as jade in the wind. He rose to the highest reaches of power while still young and keeps everyone at arm's length.

Only the little princess is sometimes timid and sweet, sometimes bright and smiling, as she softly calls him, "Cousin."

Xiao Tan's heart stirs, almost imperceptibly.

**

Just as Changle finally manages to make Xiao Tan fall for her and gets her revenge, all her secrets are revealed, and overnight she becomes the laughingstock of the entire Liang court!

On the day Emperor Liang is brought to the courtroom to be tried, the new emperor sends her to the Crown Prince's residence, where she becomes Xiao Tan's lowliest concubine.

All her grievances and hatred become the excuse she needs to act as she pleases in the Crown Prince's residence.

No matter how outrageous Changle gets, Xiao Tan indulges and placates her, letting her do whatever she wants, all for the sake of seeing her smile.

But when he sees her laughing and talking happily with another man, all his patience and self-control collapse in an instant. In a cramped, dark room, Changle has nowhere to run...

Bonus scene:

After the throne changes hands, the Crown Prince's residence holds a banquet. A stage has been set up in the garden, and Changle, having heard that a troupe will perform one of her favorite plays, arrives early to claim a seat near the middle.

The noblewomen arrive later, their eyes turning red with anger as they confront her. "Where did this country bumpkin come from? No manners at all! What lowly status gives you the right to sit here?"

Changle pops a grape into her mouth and draws out her words. "Move. You're blocking my view."

As the noblewomen angrily shove her, a furious voice behind them silences the crowd. "How dare you!"

Changle nestles into Crown Prince Xiao Tan's arms and tugs at his lapel, complaining in a soft voice, "They're bullying me..."

Xiao Tan holds her close, his voice icy. "What did you say her status was?"

The noblewomen's souls tremble.

Warnings:

Both leads are sexually inexperienced; one-on-one romance; happy ending.

The setting is very loosely based on anything real.

The male lead has a secret identity and is burdened by national hatred and family vendettas. He struggles with his feelings for the heroine for a while at first.

The second male lead grows increasingly obsessive.

The male lead only becomes Crown Prince around the middle of the story. The heroine gets a little difficult later on.

Please add After the Great General Brings Home a Green Tea Girl to your favorites. Mwah!

On the day the Great General Who Defends the Nation returns victorious, the people are not talking about his triumph, but about the pitiful orphan girl he brought back.

They can't help but remark, "Miss Wen hasn't even married into the family yet, and the Great General is already taking a concubine."

Poor Wen Miaomiao pours her heart into treating him well, only for another woman to reap the benefits.

The two women meet for the first time, and the delicate orphan breaks the vase Miaomiao carefully prepared for the Great General. Miaomiao scolds her in anger, and the orphan gets so frightened that she pricks her hand.

Faced with Si Lixing's harsh reprimands, Miaomiao freezes. It's the first time she's seen him worry about a woman.

Then, at a banquet, she pushes the orphan into a pond. The orphan is left in a pitiful state, and Si Lixing is enraged.

In front of the nobility, he invokes the law and has Miaomiao struck ten times.

He sees her little face turn pale with pain, her lips bitten until they bleed, yet she doesn't make a sound. His brows knit together. "That's enough. Don't cause trouble again."

With the last of her strength, Miaomiao replies, "All right."

Si Lixing's eyes darken slightly. He thinks she won't make trouble again.

But then the old steward tremblingly hands him an invitation. "The young lady is holding a matchmaking banquet today at the Biyun Waterside Garden. She's looking for a suitable husband."

???

Si Lixing throws open the gates of the Biyun Waterside Garden, his frost-filled gaze sweeping past all the fine young men.

Miaomiao lounges against a couch, her beautiful eyes lifting as she says coolly, "What are you doing here, Great General? Those who stand in the way of other people's matches will be struck by lightning."

Si Lixing's face is covered in frost. "And what about you, choosing a husband behind your betrothed's back?"

Miaomiao looks at him, half amused and half exasperated. "What betrothed? Great General, didn't you receive the letter breaking off the engagement?"

Si Lixing is stunned. "What letter?"

Miaomiao smiles considerately. "It's all right if you didn't get it. I'll tell you now: I've broken off the engagement."

Si Lixing assumes she's just acting up as usual. But when he sees her pairing off with other men, laughing and chatting happily, he tastes that heart-piercing agony once more...

Bonus scene:

Friend: "Hey, that impossibly handsome gentleman keeps looking at you. Do you know him?"

Miaomiao doesn't even look his way. Her voice is cold. "Never met him."

Crack! The spoon in the Great General's hand snaps in two.

**

#The righteous, responsible Great General Who Defends the Nation's journey to becoming a maniac#

Miaomiao: ???

#The more of a jerk the Great General is at first, the more unhinged and devoted he becomes later#

Miaomiao: Tch...

Theme: Find a way forward in desperate circumstances, and never give up.