Fu Shu could be said to have had two husbands.
She loved the first one.
But, for a certain political necessity,
she had no choice but to kill him.
The young man who said he would drive the Xiongnu north of the Tianshan Mountains died at seventeen.
The second marriage was merely a political union in which each got what they needed.
They divorced when she was thirty-five.
Because what she needed more than a husband was a vassal.
Fu Shu and her brother, Fu Ying, were full siblings, born of the same mother.
Their lives took them from supporting one another to becoming political rivals in the struggle for power.
But Fu Shu knew full well that she was the one who had raised the knife first.
[Reading Guide]
1. The historical setting and customary forms of address are based on an alternate Han-Wei era.
2. The first husband died when they were about to marry, hence the blurb says "could be said to have had." The second is the male lead, but he may not appear until later, so this story does have a romance plot.
3. The heroine loves power and eventually takes the throne. Of course, she will kill those whose interests conflict with hers for the sake of power, and some of them may even be good people by ordinary standards. She will also engage in political struggles with her own family. She and the male lead are villainous spouses: one handles the killing, the other handles the cleanup.
4. The term "divorce" appears in the Book of Jin and A New Account of the Tales of the World, where it means that a husband and wife legally dissolve their marriage. The term "he li" only appeared in the Tang dynasty, so given the alternate Han-Wei setting, the story uses "divorce."
*The earliest outline for this story was developed a long time ago.
Theme: Ability matters more than gender
