Spring on the Branches

[A heroine who grows from innocent and carefree into a creature of power x a gentle, modest, virtuous hero]

Starts August 25

Before the age of sixteen, Jing Yingcen had been handed the very best life had to offer.

Her mother had been frail and died young, but her parents had shared a deep bond since they were poor and unknown. Even after her mother's death, her father still doted most on her and her elder half-sister, the Crown Princess.

She had a father who cherished her, a Crown Princess for an elder sister who protected her, and a husband-to-be who was the most handsome young man in the capital.

All she had to do was wait for her princess residence to be completed, and then she would marry and settle into a life of leisure and luxury.

But her elder sister, the Crown Princess, fell gravely ill and died. Her father fell seriously ill soon afterward. In haste, he decided to make her Crown Princess, but before the edict could be formally issued, he passed away.

Her other brothers and sisters still had their eyes fixed on the throne.

She was barely seventeen, the youngest daughter of the founding emperor. Though her husband-to-be was the son of the chancellor, he cared nothing for fame or fortune either. He yearned only for a life of seclusion and knew nothing about political maneuvering.

And yet she was the one who was elevated to the throne, becoming the first princess to ascend it with a legitimate claim.

She had no choice but to secure her hold on the throne. She had no choice but to become the first empress.

As for her husband... Even if he wasn't suited to it, he would have to adapt. He could only be an empress.

Please note before reading:

The main romance is one-on-one. The heroine has other consorts, but the male lead is her one true love, her white moonlight.

The male lead dies of sorrow partway through the story, and after his death the heroine appoints another empress.

Bad ending. The conclusion takes inspiration from the chapter "Burning the Qin and Breaking the Sword" in Jin. The two go from loving and supporting each other to a complete breakdown in their relationship and, ultimately, separation by death.

This is not a matriarchal story. The heroine is the first empress, and the male lead's mother is the first female chancellor.

Content warning:

The story switches between two viewpoints and two timelines. Half is told chronologically from the male lead's perspective, and half is told in reverse from the heroine's perspective. The timelines in their perspectives run in opposite directions.

Extra:

This story follows the previous generation of the heroine in Jin. It shares a world with Jin and Lotus.

Theme: Supporting one another through thick and thin, true love lasts forever