Synopsis
Born a ruthless, ambitious beauty x a loyal, pure-hearted warrior with a hidden dark side
Empress x General
Female lead is a virgin, male lead is not. The dog emperor is NOT the male lead!!!
Blurb:
Who dares call themselves immortal? Those destined to depart must surely die.
A young married couple part ways. From empress to emperor, they share a golden cup, but spare no mercy with their blades.
Xu Woping, empress of the dynasty and mother of the crown prince, comes from a distinguished family. Her father and brothers are renowned for their literary talent, and she has been cherished and adored since birth. Before her marriage, she was already the most outstanding young lady in the capital.
Yet during the Shengping era, aristocratic clans colluded with one another and all but took control of the entire court. Even the emperor had to avoid crossing them.
Emperor Shengping was old by then, with no strength left to contend with the great families. His only child, Li Yun, was weak and incompetent. With no other choice, the emperor issued an edict appointing Xu Woping's father as a regent minister to stabilize the court.
Because of that edict, Xu Woping had no choice but to marry Li Yun, clear the road ahead for him, and then help him ascend the throne. She thought she would spend the rest of her life that way, but Li Yun revealed his true nature: he filled the inner palace with consorts, bestowed titles on his favorites, demoted loyal officials, and even groveled before the great families for power, promising them honors almost equal to those of the emperor.
The consorts schemed against one another to win the emperor's favor, while Li Yun sat high above, watching coldly as she struggled. After more than a decade of ups and downs in the inner palace, Xu Woping wanted only power, only to fulfill her ambitions.
How absurd. Li Yun was lecherous and cruel, yet the officials praised him as wise. And no matter how much she accomplished, history would remember nothing of her name, simply because she was a woman, leaving her to remain secluded in the inner palace.
If Li Yun was never going to become a wise ruler, then rather than let him poison the people and run amok, she might as well be the one wielding the blade.
She ruled from behind the throne, killed the emperor and the crown prince, eliminated the aristocratic clans, and reclaimed the northern frontier. Under Xu Woping's might, all under heaven could only bow and submit.
A hen crowing at dawn? Nothing but empty words from sour scholars. Defying the mandate of heaven? Then Xu Woping would turn heaven upside down.
Xu Woping never paid any heed to the aristocratic clans' desperate resistance. Even surrounded by ambushes on all sides, she could carve a path to survival from a hopeless situation. What she never expected was that, on that dark and rainy night, someone would come to her, heedless of life or death.
"Chixi is willing to be Your Majesty's sword, to kill at your command."
The young general knelt on the ground, gazing at her with reverence. He had no pretty words to offer, so he could only solemnly make this promise.
For a long time afterward, Chixi could still recall that moment: the emerald feather-shaped ornament between Xu Woping's brows, the pearl dangling from her ear, and the warmth of her fingers brushing his face.
He had thought himself merely fortunate to receive a fleeting moment of favor. He never imagined he would be blessed to accompany his sovereign for a lifetime.
[Blurb written: 2023.1.31]
Theme: Who dares call themselves immortal? Those destined to depart must surely die.
