[A ruthless heroine skilled at manipulating people's hearts VS a hero who seems clear-headed but is actually the ultimate lovesick fool]
A female-led tale of possessive love and conquest, with a hero who's hopelessly lovesick to the end.
Blurb:
Chen Mengjin entered the palace at sixteen and became the famed Consort Li, renowned throughout the land.
At eighteen, her entire family was convicted of treason. Her father's head was hung on the city gate for all to see, and her mother was tortured before being beheaded.
At twenty-four, she took up the butcher's blade and joined forces with rebellious ministers to execute the incompetent emperor, becoming the most powerful woman in the world.
She thought her hardships were finally over, but the young emperor she had raised by her side since childhood had conspired with a neighboring kingdom and plotted to kill her.
She suddenly felt exhausted. After a lifetime of struggle, she was still trapped in the Forbidden City, unable to see the bright sun beyond it.
When a neighboring kingdom invaded, bent on conquering and swallowing up her country, she packed her bags and set out north.
That year, at twenty-six, she resolved to travel north and infiltrate the enemy kingdom, securing Great Qing's stability and serving the realm.
She journeyed onward through countless hardships, and along the way saw a poor wretch.
He was weak and helpless, bullied from all sides, and could only sit beside his mother's coffin and weep.
She seemed to see her own former, cowering self in him. Moved by pity, she took him along.
She never expected him to be an obscure prince of the enemy kingdom. She used the opportunity to play along and make her way into its heartland.
She helped him take revenge, seize the throne, and debate the court scholars in the main hall.
Genuine feelings crept into the pretense, and beneath all the scheming lay a heart that wept for him.
When the truth finally came to light, she was held captive in the enemy camp.
"Is the emperor of Great Qing valuable enough?" she asked with a sorrowful smile, as the token in her sleeve fell to the ground.
His eyes trembled. "The emperor of Great Qing is you? You've been by my side all these years, only to use me."
He pointed his sword at Chen Mengjin. "Fine. I'll trade your head for a lifetime of wealth and glory."
But when he brought his hand down, it wasn't Chen Mengjin's head that fell. He had killed the guard watching her instead.
Tears fell from the corners of his eyes. "Go. From now on, we'll never meet again."
She turned and left. Step by step, her plans came to fruition. At last, she destroyed the enemy kingdom and claimed him, too.
"You belong to me. You always will."
Jiang Xianyu doesn't care about royal power, wealth, or gold and silver. All he cares about is Chen Mengjin's love.
He's always been confident in his own charm, believing Chen Mengjin would only ever be devoted to him.
Then he hears that Great Qing has a victorious general named Lian Sui, the emperor's old flame. The two had once been passionately in love.
Watching the unspoken understanding between the emperor and Lian Sui, he seethes with jealousy.
"Puppy, you're still a little green," Lian Sui taunts, showing off their old letters.
That very night, Jiang Xianyu slips off his clothes, revealing the many scars he earned fighting by her side, and recounts their story with tearful devotion. The emperor doesn't attend court for days afterward.
Lian Sui is furious. "What a courtesan's trick."
Jiang Xianyu curls his lips. "As long as Your Majesty likes it."
He was born in Liao, where the land was vast enough for him to gallop on horseback wherever he pleased.
Now he lives in Great Qing, whose land stretches flat to the horizon, but all he wants is to be confined to one person.
Theme: Women are every bit as capable as men. A great woman stands tall and defies the heavens.
