Has the Grand Princess Become Emperor Today?

[A seemingly delicate and refined yet iron-hearted eldest princess x a seemingly upright general who's been demoted and is secretly a pitiful soul]

[Heroine]

As the only heir of Great Zhou, Princess Zhaoning Chu Zhao was stunningly beautiful and eloquent. She was made an eldest princess at a young age, and enjoyed an excellent reputation in the capital: with a brilliant future and limitless charm, her talent and the emperor's favor seemed certain to bring her a life of glory.

But then the tides turned, and disaster struck from within.

General Yan Qinghe's overconfidence on the battlefield led to the defeat of the entire realm. Chu Zhao had no choice but to cast aside all her pride as a princess and travel alone to Qi as a hostage.

Her spine was forced to bend, and the ruthlessness in her heart gradually began to surface.

Then she discovered in a dream that she could foresee the future!

She laughed through her tears. Heaven was on her side!

After lying low for three years, she finally found her chance to strike back at those who had once bullied her. Using her foresight, she carefully plotted to steal the enemy general's defense plans, allowing Great Zhou's army to sweep through the battlefield.

At last, she was able to return to court. To investigate the case behind the defeat, she petitioned to serve as Chief Judicial Officer at the Court of Judicial Review.

To her surprise, General Yan Qinghe, who had once caused her to be sent as a hostage to Qi, had also been demoted and assigned there.

She gave him a cool glance, then ran into him again along the palace corridor.

"Your subordinate Yan Qinghe welcomes Your Highness back to court."

Looking at his straight, upright back, she replied with a faintly mocking smile, "Thanks to you, General, I'm still alive."

As a young man, Yan Qinghe had led troops into battle. He'd won countless fights against the odds. Even after she returned to the palace and took office, earning a reputation for her iron-fisted methods, she remained somewhat wary of the former great general.

But to uncover the truth about the defeat, she didn't mind joining forces with him, even if they were both up to no good.

After all, in her eyes, Yan Qinghe had thrown himself at the emperor's feet and begged forgiveness after his defeat, bearing the lash marks on his back... He was so reckless with his own life that she doubted he'd ever amount to much.

At least, that's what the eldest princess believed at first.

And why that man later donned his armor and went to battle without hesitation, guarding the realm's heroes and keeping the warriors of every corner in check for her, she couldn't say.

"Your Majesty, I will always be your subject. I will never abandon you, in life or death."

She turned her head, her heart thumping. Her prophetic dream never said General Yan was actually a loyal puppy, did it?

[Hero]

Yan Qinghe grew up in a strict household. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his adoptive father and trained rigorously. Before he had even come of age, he was sent to enlist in the army.

Yet even amid all that discipline, he had something to look forward to.

At a palace banquet, Princess Zhaoning Chu Zhao performed a red-silk dance that stunned the entire court, and danced her way into his heart.

But he was only a junior general, with no great achievements and no grave failures. How could he ever dare to dream of the moon in the sky?

So Yan Qinghe fought his way up the ranks until he commanded the entire army. But after losing a battle to a political plot, he could never return to the battlefield and had no choice but to devote himself to a career as a civil official.

Knowing that he was the reason the princess he loved had become a hostage, Yan Qinghe decided to go all in and set an extraordinary plan in motion.

He would lie low in Qi, stand with his moon through hardship, and painstakingly uncover the truth behind the defeat.

And so came their confrontation beside the palace corridor.

Later, as the royal family dwindled and the enemy invaded, he put on his armor once more and drove out the invaders.

As the setting sun sank and exhaustion nearly overcame him, his light suddenly appeared.

Chu Zhao came toward him bathed in sunlight, her horse's mane streaming in the wind, her bearing striking and heroic. She held out a hand to him. "Lord Yan, have you fallen asleep?"

At last, he relaxed his taut nerves and reached out to take hold of his light.

Then peace returned to the land, the rivers and seas grew calm, and Her Highness the Eldest Princess ascended the throne.

-

"My emperor's good name will fill a thousand volumes in the histories of generations to come!"

[Bonus Scene]

"Your Highness, must you really back me into a corner like this?"

"What are you talking about, Lord Yan? Have you had too much to drink, Yan Qinghe?"

"Your Highness... my moon. I want to hold on to you."

Chu Zhao looked at the young man before her, whose pain had brought on a hallucination. Her heart, hard as stone, seemed to waver for a moment. She sighed softly.

So he wasn't an old wolf after all. He was a little white rabbit.

Theme: The nation and the people.