After Being Doted on by a Mad Eldest Princess, I Can’t Escape

Su Jinxue passed the provincial examination at fourteen and became famous in the capital. But after trouble broke out in the northern frontier, the pampered young commandery princess became the daughter of a disgraced official, and her maternal relatives sent her to the Princess's residence with a cup of poisoned wine. Princess Zhaoyuan, Xiao Mingyu, was the late emperor's legitimate daughter. She had suffered a leg injury in the northern frontier in her youth and was known for her violent temper. Those who entered her residence never came back. On her first night there, Su Jinxue met a woman in plain clothes, with ink-black hair and features as beautiful as a painting, like an immortal who had descended from the moon. She looked twice, then suddenly realized: this was probably another pitiful, unloved person in the princess's household. The woman was unwell, so Su Jinxue made her medicine every day. The woman said the nights were cold, so Su Jinxue moved in with her to share a warm bed. By the time she came to her senses, her heart had already been given away. In secret, Su Jinxue swore to herself: when she passed the highest examination and turned her fortunes around, she would buy their freedom from the princess. Later, she passed the imperial examination and knelt beneath the palace steps. When she heard the attendant announce, "Her Highness the Princess," she looked up and froze. The notorious Princess before her was none other than the delicate, frail beloved kept in the Princess's residence! That very night, she fled without even packing her things. * Xiao Mingyu had spent years lying low, with her grand designs nearly complete. She should not have let anyone distract her. But a young woman had stumbled into her life, and what began as pity turned to indulgence, then to an attachment she could not let go. She taught her the art of war, music and etiquette, horseback riding and archery. She watched her grow day by day, and watched the pieces in the game she had spent years setting up fall into place. Just as she planned to reveal her identity and grant the girl a title, the girl ran off without a backward glance or even a goodbye. Later, the woman she had captured knelt before her, looking at her with the same pitiful eyes she'd had when she first entered the residence. Xiao Mingyu suddenly had no idea where to direct all her anger. * After being dragged back, Su Jinxue was careful and cautious every day. By day, she risked her life carrying out Xiao Mingyu's orders and commanding troops. At night, Xiao Mingyu would wash her clean and take her to bed. Whenever Su Jinxue tried to speak, Xiao Mingyu would cover her lips and repeatedly kiss the same spot until she forgot what she had meant to ask. On the eve of the enthronement, everyone expected Xiao Mingyu to become emperor. Instead, she placed the imperial crown she had prepared on Su Jinxue's head. Her fingers brushed her ear, then held the back of her neck and drew her into her arms. "My Jinjing deserves everything this world holds most precious." Su Jinxue stumbled, forced to crash into Xiao Mingyu's shoulder. From above, she heard a very soft, very slow laugh. "Why don't you make me your empress?" Su Jinxue's pupils trembled. "You..." Xiao Mingyu pressed a finger to her lips, then traced down her spine, vertebra by vertebra. "Don't shout. Save your strength for crying later." Theme: Usurp the throne and bring peace to the world.