Spring at the Sparrow Terrace (Matriarchy)

[Updates every other day before VIP, then follows the rankings. I'll take a day off if something comes up. Please add it to your library~]

[Everyone is smitten with the Empress / A battlefield of romantic rivals / Female lead is in a position of power / All characters are virgins, no rivalry between women]

The forty-seventh year of Yuanjing

Emperor Zhan Wenjun abdicates and passes the throne to her daughter, Princess Zhan Pei.

After spending eighteen carefree years as Princess Changyu, Zhan Pei ascends the throne only to face a problem she'd never anticipated.

She can have only one Royal Consort. Who should she choose?

One is Song Qingyun, the second son of the Chancellor's household. He and Zhan Pei have been at odds since childhood. Just after coming of age, he left for the battlefield, and they both thought they'd never meet again. But upon hearing that she had ascended the throne, he rushed back to the capital overnight, offering all his military achievements in exchange for a place in her harem.

One is Pei Shuzhi, the next head of the Imperial College. He and Zhan Pei were betrothed as children, and he is nearly seven years older than her. To outsiders, he's a refined gentleman, as pure and bright as the moon. He used to arrange Zhan Pei's hair and paint her brows, and sees her as the only wife he'll ever have. But Zhan Pei knows all too well that she only regards him as an elder brother.

One is Zhan Changyu, a personal slave Zhan Pei raised herself, little by little. She gave him his name and family name, but when he grew up, he eloped with someone. Zhan Pei had him seized and confined in the palace, only for him to disappear again later. She thought he was just an ungrateful little wolf cub, but one night in the future, when all was quiet, someone suddenly climbed into her bed and held out the imperial seal of an enemy state.