[The Tale of Genji] The Legendary Princess Akashi

(The main story and bonus chapters are complete, with more bonus chapters being updated! Sincere thanks for your support. May you all shine in life.)

What's on the other side of the mountains and beyond the sea?

There's the fabled Princess Akashi!

Akashi Hime has always had all sorts of strange ideas, ever since she was little and felt like she'd drunk some low-quality Meng Po soup.

But other people always tried to suppress those ideas:

You shouldn't do this, you should do that...

Always told to be like other girls, Akashi Hime pretended and muddled her way to marriageable age, yet still remained unmarried.

Don't ask. Her father just couldn't bear to let her go:

"Our child was born extraordinary. We have to find her a prince!"

Once those words got around, she became the legendary "Princess Akashi."

Akashi Hime didn't want to marry, nor did she want to wait around for a rich young nobleman to come along and drive up her value. After an undeserved calamity, she finally entered a full-blown rebellious phase.

She went up the mountain and down to the shore every day, walking over twenty thousand steps.

As her family wailed in dismay, one day,

out at sea, she reunited with the "prince" she had once known and befriended.

In the end, she became the empress consort of the first female emperor in the history books, and the one who shared power with her.

She truly became the legendary Princess Akashi.

A lively Princess Akashi who only half-transmigrated vs. a native, thoughtful Eighth Prince who disguises herself as a man

A seemingly gentle, shy, and actually straightforward sweetheart vs. someone outwardly loyal and filial, but treasonous to the core

Can a happy little music genius become the ruler?

An arrogant, ambitious schemer: Yes, together!

(She resumes her female identity on the day of her coronation.)

A derivative work of The Tale of Genji: It's already set in an imaginary world, so let's make it even more imaginary!

I see your soul, and I understand your defiance.

We will each grow strong, and together we will reach glory.

Volume One: You shine like the new moon, radiantly bright. Complete

Volume Two: Bound by rules and precepts, unable to defy fate. Complete

Volume Three: The mountains are hard to cross, but we face them together. Complete

Volume Four: Together, we share in a flourishing age and soar as one. Complete

Note:

1. Adapted from the original's setting, with some original characters appearing alongside newly created ones. There are all kinds of people, and everyone's personality is complex. The author will explain the character relationships in the story and notes. Readers can also look up a brief overview of the original if they like, but it isn't necessary to have read it. I pay tribute to the original once again.

2. The setting draws on descriptions in The Diary of Murasaki Shikibu, The Pillow Book, and other works, but I'm no expert. Please forgive any inaccuracies. And no blackened teeth, haha.

3. Feel free to criticize feudal society and awful characters, but please don't criticize the protagonists or the author. The cross-dressing heroine is an old trope, but I'll do my best to give it a fresh take.

4. Some hints, reflections, and little scenes will appear in the author's notes. I also enjoy writing bonus stories, so please support me. After the story is complete, there will be bonus chapters in more than one parallel world.

5. The entire story is written in advance, so you can count on it being completed. Once it's released, it won't be abandoned.

Blurb saved on 2025.2

Writing began in 2025.6

If you're interested, feel free to check out the author page!

(Upcoming short story: Only the Wind Knows Qingding. Upcoming longer stories: So I Was in a Wife-Chasing Crematorium After All and The Little Nobody of Dream of the Red Chamber Refuses to Accept Her Fate. I'm writing them all at once. Please show them some love!)

Theme: Never submit, never give up, and take on challenges.