The Phoenix Sings at Dawn

Xie Lan'an was born into an aristocratic family. Exceptionally talented and brilliant, she took over as head of the family at just twenty years old. Her mother told her that if she wanted to secure her position, she could never tell anyone the secret that she was a woman disguised as a man. Xie Lan'an kept this in mind at all times, but at a spring banquet, she saved Chu Qingyuan, a young man from a poor family. Chu Qingyuan was like an uncarved jade, with astonishing talent and a vibrant spirit. Xie Lan'an took him in, trusted him, and paved the way for his official career. She never imagined that after he gained power over the court, Chu Qingyuan would expose her identity as a woman in public and force her to surrender her authority. The day her secret was exposed, torrential rain poured down. Xie Lan'an stood drenched, enduring the insults of her own clan. The clan leader who once revered her struck her name from the family register. Friends who used to call her brother treated her like a demon. The women who had once admired her called her shameless and depraved. And Chu Qingyuan, who had always obeyed her every order, held an umbrella and spoke to her with tender devotion: "A Lan, don't blame me. I only want you to marry me, have children with me, and live the life of a normal person." As everyone turned against her, Xie Lan'an's eyes filled with blood. Using herself as bait, she sent Chu Qingyuan to meet the King of Hell, then plunged off a cliff. * When she opened her eyes, she had returned to the moment she first took over as head of the Xie family. The first thing Xie Lan'an did was return to her female form and make everyone who had kicked her when she was down pay for it, one by one. When it was time to choose her retainers again, her icy gaze passed over Chu Qingyuan, who was staring at her in a daze, and settled on a young male companion of humbler origins. [The hero's story] Yin Xi had no parents. He was of the lowest status, but his face was breathtakingly beautiful. When the head of the Xie family chose him, everyone else envied him. He could only think that it was a dream. Dreams always end. Later, Yin Xi climbed the ranks like a madman, crushing Young Master Qingyuan, who dared to look at his lady one too many times. He only wanted to tell his lady, "Whatever others can give you, I can give you too." You look at A Nu one more time. ★ The heroine is reborn from the start. She is not a pushover, will not bottle things up, and will not go soft. One-on-one romance. ★ Set in a fictional Northern and Southern Dynasties era. -- Upcoming story: "Nine Phoenixes Vie for the Throne" -- The empress had five children. The eldest princess was born to her and the male consort. The second princess was born to her and a favored consort. The third and fourth princesses were twins, born to the empress and her favorite male companion, whom she had brought into the palace by force. Oh, and there was also a young prince with no right to inherit the throne. There were also other princesses raised in the palace: the empress's niece, her adopted daughter, and the daughter of the empress's unrequited love and his ex-wife. "By that count," said a carefree man in green, leading a donkey outside Changwai City, "even if we include the prince, there are only eight factions." Xie Shu sat on the donkey's back and took her last bite of flatbread. "Then she may have forgotten about the daughter of the imperial sister she once had killed, the one who should never have died." And so she returned, ready to take back what she'd lost. ★ A political power struggle among women, about nine princesses fighting for the throne. - Theme: When faced with injustice, speak out.