The Empress's Son

This is my first time writing a no-romance story, so please let me know if anything could be improved. I hope it gets better as I go along~

[Bonus chapters being updated]

Remaining bonus chapters: The parents' love story

The emperor's daily life

Daily governance

The crazy younger princess...

My next upcoming novels are Ghost Child, Human Purge Plan, and the romance novel After Faking My Death, My Ex-Husband Came Begging to Reconcile with Our Child. If you like them, please add them to your favorites to show your support (★≧▽^))★☆

Also known as The Empress's Growth Story. The main focus is on the empress's growth.

[Standard Blurb]

Zi Sang Zhen was raised by her mother in the depths of the palace, disguised as a boy and treated as a prince. She thought she could live happily like that forever.

But one day, her mother asked her if she wanted to become a girl again. Zi Sang Zhen said she didn't know.

Yet deep within the palace, women had no power. She watched her playmate get abducted with her own eyes, but she was powerless to help. In her frail condition, she went to her mother and begged her to teach her how to become emperor.

But she had not grown up by the emperor's side. She had no father's love and no powerful connections. As a girl, how could she seize power and survive?

Zi Sang Zhen had her own way.

She joined forces with the palace consorts and laid plans in secret.

She hid her talents and framed princes, all for the position of Crown Prince.

She cared for the people and led by example in the fight against the plague.

She severed family ties and stood up for the people.

But because the people supported her so strongly, she was still feared. Zi Sang Zhen could only retreat in order to advance, willingly giving up the position of Crown Prince and choosing to go to the borderlands.

When Zi Sang Zhen returned, she stood between the would-be Crown Prince and the emperor and said, "Will you willingly abdicate, or must I force my way into the palace?"

[Literary-Style Blurb]

My birth was a gamble.

My life was a gamble.

Every choice I made was a gamble, too.

I thought I was fighting alone,

but then,

She taught me to raise my hands and take up the bow and blade;

She taught me to read widely and command the board and people's hearts;

She made me give up freedom and immerse myself in profit and power;

She led me to break through my chains and take control of the realm and the throne

I was the tool they gambled on,

The weapon they used to prove that freedom was possible.

And they were my weakness, my support, and my refuge.

"They bet that I would become a ruler, and I bet that they would not lose."

I am a female prince. The only female prince of Great Zhen.

[Content Warnings]

This is a no-romance story. The female lead has no love interest, and the focus is on her growth. That said, there are two one-sided crushes on the female lead. I just think it's only natural that someone as outstanding as her would be admired~ Of course, they remain one-sided and never develop further.

Some side characters have romantic storylines, but not many. The female lead's mother's romance gets a little more attention, with a bit at the beginning and a larger section in the middle. I'll add a warning when we get there. The other romantic content is very limited and mostly mixed up with schemes.

The overall theme is girls helping the female lead, though there will also be plots where they use and scheme against one another.

The villains are not necessarily evil, but in a fight for the throne, open and covert struggles are inevitable. A contest for power is a matter of life and death. Without real stakes, there can be no genuine struggle or perseverance.

One last thing: the early part has a bit of an ensemble cast feel, with the female lead and her mother sharing the narration equally. Once the female lead reaches adulthood, the story will be told solely from her perspective and will lean more toward a power fantasy, though it isn't exactly that satisfying.

One more thing: if you spot any word choices that seem off, feel free to point them out. I'm a follower, not a leader, after all, so it's only natural that sometimes I can't keep up with the changes.

If you like it, please add it to your favorites~

Theme: Face hardship without fear, and never shrink from danger.