A Woman Mogul's Guide to Rising to the Top

Chen Jiao transmigrates. She arrives in the darkest days at the end of a dynasty. The good news: She's in the south, where things are peaceful for now. The bad news: Her birth mother is a prostitute from the lowest social class. Hell mode from the start. A gang of thugs targets a widowed mother and her daughter, breaks into their home in the middle of the night, and attempts to assault them. Chen Jiao accidentally kills one of them and is charged with murder. The mother and daughter have no choice but to flee. Just when they're backed into a corner, Xu Shi finds her a well-connected father. The good news: Her new father is a regional warlord. The bad news: He has eleven sons, thirteen daughters, and her mother is his ninth concubine! Xu Shi, blinded by romance, is overjoyed. "My child, your father's a prince! You can latch onto him and become a princess in no time!" Chen Jiao: "Mother, there are eight other wives and concubines above you. Are you sure we can rise above them in the household intrigue?" Xu Shi: "..." Sure enough, as soon as the mother and daughter enter the mansion, Chen Jiao nearly becomes a stand-in bride for a fifty-year-old man. Chen Jiao decides to take another route. While the eight other wives and concubines are busy fighting over their hairpins, she chooses to compete with her eleven brothers instead. Wear a man's shoes, walk your own path! * Prince of Huai'an Chen En discovers that his ninth child has extraordinary abilities. As a modern person who knows five thousand years of history, past and present, Chen Jiao is a walking golden finger. She uses Chen Jiecai brine to fight lung abscesses and epidemics, making a name for herself. The earliest penicillin in Hua Country: You won't regret having it! Introduce the imperial examination system and break the aristocratic clans' monopoly. Follow Huang Chao's example, check the family registers, and wipe out entire families. A man without ruthlessness can't get anywhere! Reform the tax system by taxing each household based on its population, attract refugees, and encourage population growth. It's already been proven effective in a certain dynasty. Cross the Chishui River four times. On Protracted War. A great leader's brilliant strategies: You could study them for a lifetime! Later... Chen Jiao says, "Father, why don't we rebel too?" * In the end, the Prince of Huai'an rebels and becomes a true hegemon. Chen Jiao outcompetes her many brothers, but unfortunately, a family estate built by her father won't be left to a daughter. Xu Shi grumbles, "Ninth Daughter would've been better off fighting over hairpins in the back courtyard." A devoted fan of Empress Wu Zetian, Chen Jiao grits her teeth, rebels, slays the dragon in a bloodbath, and claims the throne as hegemon. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she looks at her ailing father and says, "Father, I'll provide for the concubines in your household who behave. The ones who don't, I'll see to their funerals." "As for your sons, they all want to fulfill their filial duty to you, so they can go with you too." The Prince of Huai'an glares at her, clinging to his last hope. "Cui... Cui Jue, Cui Jue..." Chen Jiao: "Oh, him. I lured him into bed, and now he's my man." Cui Jue, the living King of Hell, standing guard outside the door: "..." He can't say when Chen Jiu Niang ensnared him and made him the blade in her hand. He doesn't know himself. [An evil woman who kills gods and Buddhas x a dark, twisted, crawling-in-the-shadows living King of Hell] Reader's guide: 1. Alternate history, both leads are sexually inexperienced, 1v1, happy ending. 2. The heroine is career-driven, skilled at physically putting people down, and an expert at being shameless. She lives by the principles of "shameless people can conquer the world" and "if I'm unhappy, nobody in your family gets to be happy." She has a weak sense of morality and isn't a good person in the conventional sense. 3. The hero is the same sort. He's mentally ill. 4. The pairing is all about an intense predator-and-prey game between equals. 5. The heroine becomes an empress. Take note. Theme: Unwavering faith