Lord Grand Secretary, Please Let Me Go

[Dark and twisted female lead x noble and aloof male lead]

Shen Handeng, the illegitimate daughter of a marquis's household, has three secrets:

First: She was reborn.

Second: She used underhanded means to claim her husband.

Third: The husband she claimed through underhanded means was actually her brother-in-law in her previous life, the man her older sister had married.

In her previous life, Shen Handeng endured more than ten years of humiliation to win her mother's attention.

She did things she hated, played a role she hated, and helped her mother and sister clear every obstacle in their path. In the end, all she got was a death by dismemberment with five horses.

Even the man she married, the one she loved, was merely a pawn her sister had placed by her side. Before Shen Handeng died, he even put on a live sex show in front of her to humiliate her.

Her entire life had been a web of schemes. Apart from her father, no one cared about her.

Yet Shen Handeng never expected that the last kindness she received before dying would come from her sickly brother-in-law, younger than her and someone she had always looked down on.

That man dragged his battered body forward. Poison had left his usually gentle, friendly voice hoarse, but he still held out a cup of water to her.

After being reborn, Shen Handeng returns to the year her own mother drove her out of the household because of a Taoist priest's reckless prophecy.

This time, she endures, puts on an act, and bides her time for six whole years to take revenge. At last, on that day, she stops her father from raising a hand against her mother and prevents her father's tragic death.

On the surface, Shen Handeng hides her sharp edges and willingly lets others take the credit. To outsiders, she's a spineless little illegitimate daughter.

In private, dressed in white, she strikes fear into the martial world, while her schemes stir up the court's political tides.

The world calls her the "Cold-Faced Rakshasa" of Slaying Heaven Fortress.

The court calls her the "Hell's Emissary" by the Crown Princess's side.

She faces them all with cold indifference, as if none of it matters to her.

Until the emperor invites all his subjects to the capital for a grand state banquet. As she drinks with the Crown Princess, she suddenly spots a flash of blue beneath the restaurant.

Her friends look on in horror as Shen Handeng smiles, a disturbingly strange smile.

Duan Yanjing, the sole survivor of the Jiangnan Duan family, was once betrothed to the legitimate daughter of the Loyal Marquis's household. But the Duan family had been loyal and brave for generations, and their fortunes had fallen. The marquis's household had long since looked down on them and wanted their daughter to marry into the imperial family instead.

Unexpectedly, on the night Shen, the marquis's wife, brought the marriage contract to break off the engagement, the Duan family's young master, who had been staying at the estate, vanished without a trace.

The household fell into an uproar, so no one noticed.

In an inconspicuous courtyard, beneath the floor of the inner room

The blue-robed young master they were searching for had his eyes blindfolded and his limbs bound. His clothes were half undone as he struggled to evade a pair of unseen hands.

The owner of those hands gripped his thin chin, rubbed his vivid red lips, and chuckled. "Three years. You really made me search for you, didn't you? Hmm, Yan'er?"

"Did I ever tell you what would happen if you ran away?"

"...Mmm."

Notes: 1. Female-dom, strong female lead, no role reversal (the woman is always stronger than the man). If that's not for you, please don't read. (First warning.)

2. The story is set in a matriarchal society. The female lead's friend, the Crown Princess, will eventually ascend the throne. The female lead isn't very fond of court politics, but as long as life goes on, so does the struggle.

I'm very protective of my characters. The plot can be angsty, but the romance can't. If you're the type to nitpick every little thing, feel free to leave. Don't read along and then lecture me about how to rule the world. (Second warning.)

3. I may have a weakness for stories about a proud empress conquering the world, so the plot gets pretty wild. If that bothers you, please don't read.

4. The female lead is a time bomb from the start. I'll explain later. She doesn't turn evil later on, because she's already evil.

Theme: May everyone get what they wish for