The world is assumed to be entirely female.
An Imperial Princess x five subjects who are madly in love with her.
Heads-up: Harem rivalry and hair-pulling drama ahead. There will be mutual dominance. If that's not your thing, please click away.
Ning had an Imperial Princess who ascended the throne at eight and studied every aspect of statecraft from childhood.
The court was filled with officials of all ages, and trying to satisfy so many people was no easy task.
Before her death, the previous Imperial Princess entrusted the young ruler to the care of the Grand Preceptor, Qi Huai.
For years, Imperial Princess Mu Hengtang was caught between the Grand Preceptor's and the general's rival powers. She spent twenty years with no real authority, living like a puppet on strings.
What's more, Qi Huai humiliated her night after night with a jade hairpin, calling it "relieving her fatigue."
Whenever General Chang Zhizhu returned victorious, she demanded what she called a reward for her triumph. She asked for neither titles nor gold and silver, only little trinkets from the common folk. She called it "a token of affection."
And then there was the empress in the harem, who would torment her every few days by sending over food so awful that Mu Hengtang would spend ages in the privy. She called it "doing her duty."
But to Mu Hengtang, one was simply "humiliation," another "mockery," and the last "self-interest."
Just like the officials bowing and kowtowing before her, it was all lies.
Then, as spring stirred, remnants of the fallen dynasty launched a coup.
Qi Huai, who had always humiliated her, showed concern for Mu Hengtang for the first time. "Your Highness is blessed with good fortune. Leave the palace through the secret passage and lie low outside for a while."
Chang Zhizhu, who was always playing tricks on her, stood guard with a blade in hand and the Imperial Guard at the palace corridor. Unlike the soft words she used when asking for rewards, she called Mu Hengtang by her childhood name. "Yungui, be a good girl and listen to Qi."
And the empress handed Mu Hengtang the deeds and gold and silver she valued more than her own life.
Mu Hengtang understood: if she left, and they won, she could return to the palace and continue as their puppet princess. If they lost, she would have to hide like a sewer rat, avoiding everyone.
After all these years as a puppet, Mu Hengtang was tired. She let go of everything and left the palace in plain clothes, carrying a jade hairpin and a little loose silver.
But out in the martial world, she met a pair of twin sisters...
The Lin sisters were very nice. They bought Mu Hengtang a bowl of wontons, and then, somehow, she ended up in bed with them: one begged her to use the jade hairpin on her, while the other used it on her.
Just as she was thinking of settling down, one day she woke to a pair of eyes as cold and indifferent as a wintry pool.
"Your Highness, it's time to return to the palace."
[Reader's Guide]
★ The characters won't become a couple all at once.
★ Harem rivalry and hair-pulling drama ahead. The relationships are rocky, but no one will hurt the princess. If you can't accept five love interests, click away now.
★ The princess grows over the course of the story and will go through a low point.
Theme: I began as a mayfly, yet with a turn of my hand, I command the clouds and rain.
