A Civil Official, Not an Artist

[Dear readers, if things continue like this, this book is going to die. I've moved the completed chapters offline for now. I'll post them once the whole thing is finished!]

Xi Tiaozhi is a civil official.

Poetry, music, rites, archery, and horsemanship... she knows none of them.

With the most refined face, she uses the most torturous methods.

She's known as a sight to behold in the palace and the hellish warden of the interrogation chamber.

With the Crown Prince at her back (though rumors say they've cut ties), the emperor's favor, money in her pockets, and her parents away from home, she becomes the person every spoiled young master in the capital envies most within half a year.

But people say "he" is exceptionally gifted at dancing. Whenever someone asks, "he" always smiles brightly and says lazily, "The civil officials of our Embroidered Uniform Guard don't do the arts."

-

After seventeen years of "legally" living as a woman disguised as a man, Xi Tiaozhi decides that dying would be the "safer" option. After careful planning, she finally fulfills her wish before she dies: she kisses the Crown Prince by force.

But...

What if she doesn't die?

*

As someone "legally" living as a woman disguised as a man, Xi Tiaozhi has to stay on guard at all times and learn men's habits. When she reaches the age when she ought to fall for someone, she starts searching carefully for a person who can stir those feelings in her.

Her older brother says men all like beautiful women, so Xi Tiaozhi looks at every beauty in the capital, only to find that none of them can compare to the Crown Prince at her side.

[Legally Disguised as a Man]

[Delicate, Ambitious Schemer X A Falsely Mad Crown Prince Who Is More Complicated Than a Madman]

Notes:

1. Content warning: I can only confirm that the characters love each other. I can't guarantee when they fall in love. I'll follow the characters' lead, so readers with related preferences may want to skip this.

2. This is a fictional setting. The main plot involves solving cases. Official ranks and other details are inspired by reality but are not historically accurate, so please don't scrutinize them.

3. To add: The author probably writes every type of story, so readers with related preferences may want to skip this.

4. I'll add more if I think of anything. If you think of something, feel free to remind me.

Theme: Rely on yourself rather than heaven or earth