Becoming an Imperial Princess After the Jingkang Humiliation

Preorders: “The Funeral Shop’s Jinx, Here to Deal with Anyone Who Won’t Behave” and “After Becoming a Strategist for My Peasant Father.” Their blurbs are at the very bottom. Please add them to your collections. Blurb: Zhao Huan transmigrated into the body of Song Emperor Huizong’s twenty-first daughter, Princess Roufu. Once a princess of the imperial family, she was now in the Laundry Court of the Jin kingdom, after the Jingkang Humiliation. The Laundry Court was nothing more than a filthy den, a place that concealed its true purpose behind a respectable name. Empresses, princesses, and concubines handed over to settle debts were playthings for the Jin nobility. Aside from the women of the imperial family, the Jin kingdom had taken nearly two hundred thousand people from the Northern Song captive. Their fates were little different from the women’s. Zhao Huan: “Damn you!” She wanted to live, of course, but a life of unending humiliation was worse than death. If she had to die, she might as well take someone down with her. If each of her hundreds of thousands of sisters killed one enemy, they could take hundreds of thousands of foes with them. Kill the Jin invaders, take Lin’an, reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of You and Yun, and unite the realm. The scholar-officials: “A woman ruling? That’s like a hen crowing at dawn. What kind of order is that?” Zhao Huan: “The literati know nothing of the anguish of a fallen nation. Across the river, they still sing ‘Flowers in the Rear Courtyard.’” Reader’s Guide: Please read with an open mind. Personal attacks, taking passages out of context, and false warnings are not acceptable, so the comment section is closed. Don’t be put off by the first chapter. Things gradually get better afterward. This is not based on official history, and includes many fictional elements. Please don’t nitpick the historical details. Preorder 1: “The Funeral Shop’s Jinx, Here to Deal with Anyone Who Won’t Behave.” Blurb: Meng Xiyi transmigrated into the daughter of a funeral coffin shop owner in the capital. Though her family worked in a lowly trade, they were close-knit, and she had no worries about food or clothing. When she came of age, her family’s funeral business was considered unlucky, and her birth chart was said to bring misfortune. As a result, no one came forward to ask for her hand in marriage. Meng Xiyi wasn’t worried at all. She had already set her sights on the young man next door and planned to propose to him herself. Just as she expected, his family looked down on her, and her proposal failed. Unexpectedly, thanks to her unlucky birth chart, a twist of fate brought Cheng Fengyao, a young master of the Duke of Wei’s household, to her door to ask for her hand. The engagement was settled. Cheng Fengyao: A blend of Jia Baoyu and Duan Zhengchun, he was the pampered “golden phoenix” of a ducal household, flirtatious and amorous, with countless beauties around him. The Duke of Wei’s household: A nest of utter scoundrels. Their life of luxury was thoroughly rotten, and they held the record for the largest baby boom during the mourning period in the Great Yong dynasty. Yet Meng Xiyi had no choice but to marry into the family. The Duke of Wei’s household was the crown prince’s maternal relatives. Before the wedding, she uses her new status to expand her business, control public opinion, and build influence in both the underworld and respectable society. After the wedding, she takes charge of the Duke of Wei’s household and uses an iron fist to bring every last scoundrel to heel. As for romance... Meng Xiyi: “Ugh, these rotten romances keep coming. It’s gotten complicated, hasn’t it? Heh. I can’t help it, I can’t help it.” Reader’s Guide: 1. The setting is fictional. Please don’t nitpick the historical details. 2. Cheng Fengyao is not the male lead. The romance will be intense and exciting. 3. The story is half romance and half plot. The heroine is no saint. She’s skilled at acting, singing, reciting, fighting, throwing tantrums, rolling on the ground, pretending to be possessed, and all sorts of other tricks. Preorder 2: “After Becoming a Strategist for My Peasant Father.” Blurb: The war is over, and a new dynasty has been founded. Peasant generals have earned noble titles through their military achievements, but they can barely recognize a handful of characters. The old officials of the previous dynasty look down on them. Cheng Dou, a commander of the Imperial City Bureau, is a peasant through and through. He can’t even read official letters and documents, making him a laughingstock at court. The emperor values his loyalty and reliability, and orders him to learn to read. Furious, Cheng Dou secretly throws dog’s blood at those who mocked him, but he can only grit his teeth and obey the order to study. After ten years in this world, having been born into it, Cheng Ningxi has finally found herself living a stable and comfortable life despite the constant wars. Her good-for-nothing father, whom she has met only twice, is sprawled over his book, snoring like a thunderclap. Cheng Ningxi mocks him mercilessly. Cheng Dou is so angry he wants to hit her, but he can’t bring himself to do it. His two sons died fighting alongside him, and after years without another child, Cheng Ningxi is the only blood relative he has left. Cheng Dou: “Laughing at your old man, are you? If you’re so clever, try reading it yourself. If you’re better than me, I’ll call you Dad!” To his surprise, Cheng Ningxi uses the knowledge she gained in her previous life to beat him with ease, then smugly says, “Call me Dad!” Unable to accept defeat, Cheng Dou grabs a stick and chases her around the five-courtyard mansion twice. Miserly Cheng Dou looks at his taunting daughter and gets an idea. Grinning, he says, “Sweetheart, I’ve got an even more impressive challenge for you. Are you up for it?” Seeing that Cheng Dou has taken the bait, Cheng Ningxi raises an eyebrow. “Bring it on!” Thinking his little scheme has worked, Cheng Dou dismisses his hired scribe and dumps every official letter and memorial from the Imperial City Bureau on his free scribe, Cheng Ningxi. Who would have thought that, starting from helping Cheng Dou learn to read, Cheng Ningxi would gradually become the real power behind the Imperial City Bureau? The bureau’s staff are strictly disciplined, and the capital becomes a civil and peaceful place. The rough-and-ready generals don’t dare relieve themselves just anywhere. If they so much as spit, they swallow it as soon as they hear her name. New gossip spreads through the capital: “Cheng Dou has no sons. The Cheng family’s estate will end up in someone else’s hands sooner or later.” “Who would dare marry Cheng Ningxi? She’ll be an old maid for life!” Some people eager for a show even help find members of the Cheng clan, bringing their male relatives over for Cheng Dou to adopt as his heir. Cheng Ningxi does nothing. The clan members “unexpectedly” die. Shen Lang is peerless in talent and looks. He passed the highest imperial examination at fifteen, and at a young age has already risen to the post of Vice Minister of Justice. In Vice Minister Shen’s courtyard stands a potted cycad in bloom. On his desk is a letter from his sworn enemy, Cheng Ningxi: “Even the cycad has blossomed. What about you?” Reader’s Guide: The setting is fictional. Please don’t nitpick the historical details. The plot comes first. The romance only begins once the characters are adults. Theme: Women should stand on their own.