Pillar of the Realm

[Major revisions begin on November 13. The structure and event order have both been adjusted. Chapters will be marked once their revisions are complete.]

As a trusted confidante of the Eastern Palace, Qin Zhenyan betrayed Crown Prince Chen Nanli twice.

The Confucian ministers accused her of sowing discord, the generals hated her for playing both sides,

and even Chen Nanli once held a blade to her throat himself, forcing her to promise lifelong loyalty.

But things were not supposed to be this way, Qin Zhenyan thought.

Her lie about disguising herself as a man and changing her appearance to enter government service, her ever-growing ambition and ruthless, underhanded methods, her aspirations and obsession...

All of them had been cultivated by Chen Nanli, day after day, with his own hands.

"Three thousand miles of sun and moon have stripped me to the bone, yet I survive on nothing but a meager pulse of hot blood. A bad name cannot bury my life, and slander cannot lay my soul to rest. The little scrap of pity you offer me through your fingers cannot tame a heart as wild as the weeds.

One day, I will bear my hard-won honors and tell the world that my name was born to be inscribed upon that towering monument that reaches the heavens."

[An ambitious prince who hides his strength / ruthless on the surface / sickly and love-struck x a woman disguised as a man / decisive and ruthless / a genius Go player who puts her career first]

* The lives of two people who endure humiliation and struggle to succeed

* Career-focused at first, with a slow-burn romance. Happy ending.

* A serious political intrigue story, not a wish-fulfillment power fantasy.

* Flawed characters. Neither lead is a good person.

* Lots of scenes involving a woman disguised as a man.

Theme: Love and justice.