The main story is complete. Bonus chapters will appear from time to time.
Weibo: @ Jiao Mei You Gen
Fengling Crossing lies on the border between the kingdoms of Yan and Yong. She crossed it twice in her life, and both times she had no choice.
The first time, she was Princess Dongxiang of Great Yong, sent as a bargaining chip to appease an ambitious neighbor.
When she returned, she was the deposed empress of Great Yan, defeated just short of victory and fleeing in panic.
The boy who once escorted her to her distant marriage had grown into an invincible cavalry general. Just as he had once escorted her to Chang'an, now he brought her back to Jiankang.
Her elder brother, the emperor of Great Yong, learned that Princess Dongxiang's carriage had arrived at the palace and rushed all the way out from the main hall, personally helping her down from her carriage. Dressed in red brocade, with jade ornaments and pearls hanging from her hair, Mingchuo's radiant beauty had not faded. Yet he dared not recognize her.
On the day she was named Princess Who Guards the State, Mingchuo looked at the edict granting her the power to govern as regent and laughed. She had been a princess all her life. Before she was even born, the edict had already been drafted for her.
She rolled up the imperial decree and tossed it aside, as if joking with her imperial brother.
"I've already been an empress. What's so precious about being a princess?"
*
There are three male leads in all. She marries two of them, and the other is technically her brother, so they can't get married [their romance only begins after they are no longer siblings].
There is faux-incest, a marriage that turns into love, and a groveling arc. There are older and younger men, too. Everyone gets a full meal, and no one goes hungry.
The heroine is very focused on political maneuvering, but she's not the type to shut herself off from love.
Don't ask who the heroine loves most. She loves them all quite a lot, but in the end, she loves herself most.
It's a fictional setting, but the place names, official system, and all sorts of historical allusions are borrowed from real life. I can't come up with all that stuff myself.
*
Male Lead No. 1: Forbidden love with a mad older brother
Xiao Ying had known since childhood that he was not truly of the emperor's bloodline. He had stolen his name and throne from Mingchuo.
Empress Dowager Xie hated him for it, but Mingchuo understood nothing and called him "Imperial Brother" again and again.
Future generations may not remember his good governance: pacifying the realm, keeping aristocratic clans in check, reforming the selection of officials, making peace with powerful neighbors, and avoiding wars of conquest. But they will remember his extravagance, cruelty, extermination of the imperial clan, and murder of his own son.
He needn't even die before people are calling him incompetent and immoral, for indulging Princess Who Guards the State in her arrogance and excesses, and for letting her show no respect for the sovereign.
"It's not indulgence," he interrupted, gently correcting Mingchuo as she read aloud the censor-in-chief's memorial. "It's a debt I owe her."
Male Lead No. 2: The domineering emperor falls for me
Wulan Zheng was a great ruler of his age, a master strategist in war. Just two generations ago, the Wulan clan had been herders on the grasslands. Under Wulan Zheng, they had become powerful enough to stand as equals with Great Yong.
But not every problem could be solved by war. The princess of Great Yong he had sought in marriage seemed to regard them as uncivilized barbarians. The first time she appeared before him in court, she looked as if she wanted to pinch her nose shut. She was nothing like what he had imagined: a southerner sent because her people were scared out of their wits.
It didn't matter. Wulan Zheng had held his nose while marrying her, too. His ideal had always been to unite the north.
"And then?" Mingchuo asked him. At the time, he stood atop the unfinished legacy of his father, looking down over a thousand miles of fertile land and a magnificent realm.
Wulan Zheng took her hand. "And then, I'll rule the world with you."
Male Lead No. 3: The pure-love warrior
Escorting Princess Dongxiang to her marriage was Yuan Qi's first long journey as a soldier. He was thirteen that year.
The Great Yong army could only escort her as far as Fengling Crossing. On the other side was the army sent by the emperor of Great Yan to receive the bride.
At Fengling Crossing, Yuan Qi swore that he would never again let a woman of Great Yong be sent off to marry for peace. Everyone thought the young general had lofty ambitions, and his words became a celebrated story.
He had thought the figure by the ferry could be the object of his distant longing for the rest of his life, without anyone ever knowing.
Then that unforgettable face unexpectedly appeared before him again, panicked and frightened, like a lotus by the water.
She recognized him. When Yuan Qi lifted her onto his horse, she still called him "Young General," unaware of his current rank.
"Take me home," his princess begged him.
The figure by the ferry turned back toward him. At last, Yuan Qi's long, secret longing had reached its destination.
Theme: Stand on your own feet and grow strong
I feel like Mingchuo would be a little jealous if she was going to marry wlz Sister Shi. Although she already had a lot of power at that time, her youth was still wasted on the old man and was contaminated by his pitiful and hateful selfishness. Her feelings for Mingchuo are very good, admiring, jealous, and sympathetic, and she can't help but put a little sincerity into her calculations.
There is really no emperor who is more lonely than Ying... When his life came to an end, he finally changed his ways to become a faint emperor instead of Yao and Shun, but he still refused to show the poems he wrote. I would imagine that one day after Xiao Ying left, Menan would be beside the candlestick in Hanqing Palace and recall the scene where he was waiting for his father-in-law to finish speaking to Xiao Ying. Then he slowly squatted down like the little girl back then, and suddenly saw pressed between the corners of the candlestick a poem manuscript written by his brother that had been left behind by Ren Zhi and was spared from being burned...
In the end, I actually cried for Yuan Qi. I hated his giant baby look for a while, but then he was constantly being tortured. Although I felt a little happy watching it, I still felt sad for him. I didn't expect that Jiao gave him such a gentle ending. I remember Jiao said on Weibo before that this is a story about a little sun being destroyed and then destroying other people, and the dragon slayer turning into an evil dragon, so I always thought that the tone of the ending would be very dark and sad, but it turned out to be very tender, wrapped in the memory of the old friend. Maybe it was because Mian and Sister Jing were sorting their clothes, and I seemed to smell the smell of mothballs TT
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhinging... I really like this ending. It's a bit cold, the mood is bland, half a life has passed, and all the love and hate have left in pieces. Now that she holds supreme power, the voice that rings in her ears is still the voice of her mother when she was a child. The voice that initially led her to this path... Is either complete or withering. The past six months of chasing her have seemed to have accompanied her through a lifetime. Thank you for accompanying her!! In addition, I particularly admire Jiao Da's skill in shaping supporting characters. Every female character has flesh and blood, ambitions and desires. I love it!
If Mingchuo, who had just lost his child, was made aware of the so-called deal in Yuan Qi's mind, he would probably be slapped twice... And the couple actually had a feeling of ex. In the end, Yuan Er considered how to write a letter to Mingchuo. He was probably worried about upsetting her, but also afraid that she didn't care at all. But he is better than the other two male guests because he can live a long life. As a hero, he should have more to offer than as a prince-in-law, to reach a new deal with fate in exchange for Mingchuo's satisfaction.
Oh my god. My heart suddenly trembled when I heard these five words: Your Majesty, please sit down. Fu Shuang, your wish has come true. Although it was late, she came anyway. Fushuang, thank you for your hard work.
This ending completely echoes the beginning. Our Mingchuo is the legitimate queen [loving eye][loving eye][loving eye][loving eye]
After Xiao Ying's miserable 36 years, he finally returned the throne.
True Geminis who have missed half their lives and struggled with half their lives...
I'm going through withdrawal and I'm going to die. Everything I watch is boring.