Diary of an Empress's Growth

The year Zhou Jinxi became the crown princess, the imperial physician also diagnosed her with a life expectancy of less than twenty years.

All her life, she had been hurried along by fate, from a free-spirited young lady in a border town to a puppet at court with no say in anything. She thought her life would always be this way.

Then her childhood friend, a young general, returned from the frontier to take up an appointment at court. Only then did she remember that she had dreams, too, and wanted the people to live in peace and prosperity. Her life shouldn't be confined behind towering walls!

Slow burn, no golden finger, ensemble cast, mystery

A guiding lover x someone who never gives up until she gets what she wants

Mystery version:

The Buddha beneath the Nuo opera mask, the temple that vanished without a trace, memories slowly forgotten, puppets that move like the living dead... Zhou Jinxi couldn't tell what lay ahead. She dug her nails into her palm, reminding herself to stay clear-headed. For her people and her country, she wished for peace throughout the land and for the people to live in peace and prosperity.

Theme: Who says women are inferior to men?