She grew up in a rough, impoverished backwater, where going hungry and getting beaten were the norm. She had long since gotten used to it. Then one day, a Taoist priest passed through Peach Blossom Village, a place with the name of a paradise but none of its riches, and became a teacher.
For the first time, she learned that there was an emperor beyond Peach Blossom Village, that he possessed supreme power and inexhaustible wealth. She wanted to become emperor.
At thirteen, she saved up money by running errands and doing laundry for the Taoist, then bought her freedom from her parents.
In plain clothes, with a single bundle, she set off south.
But before she had even left Mingzhou, she was swindled. Losing her travel money was one thing, but she nearly got sold. For the first time, she truly understood that the world outside was full of malice.
Fine. If everyone out there was like that, then she had nothing to hold her back.
At first, she only swindled women. It was simple: disguised as a man, with a naturally handsome face and a touch of rakish charm, she was just the type wealthy madams liked. Her beauty and silver tongue made her a fortune. Once she had a taste for it, she set her sights on the military camp.
Selling weapons on the black market brought in money fast.
*
If she had known that going on this journey would make her meet the man she would come to hate, she swore she never would have gone.
"When the country is in turmoil, its leaders should be kindhearted."
Meaning: "Please be magnanimous, Your Excellency."
"I am kindhearted. Otherwise, you'd already be buried in the ground."
Meaning: "Do you really think I'll listen?"
A peerless warlord vs. a smooth-talking swindler.
"I've never met a woman like you. You're not like a woman at all, more like a street thug."
"Thanks. You beast, your mouth can't produce anything but filth."
Note: The female lead is falsely virtuous; the male lead is genuinely kind.
Both leads are virgins.
Alternate universe.
Theme: A silver tongue can bring both fortune and trouble.
