Shutong

Next up: Conquest Failed Eight Hundred Times. Please add it to your reading list.

[Female-led growth story about an empress + adored by all + political intrigue + a saint's selfish love + pseudo-siblings + tragic romance + duty to country and people + a touch of ensemble cast]

In the second year of Yangchu, osmanthus flowers bloomed in abundance. On her first trip to the palace as a study companion, Yan Qi followed the eunuch leading the way, head bowed. Without warning, someone stumbled right into her arms.

Beneath the osmanthus, Princess Chenlan looked up and met a pair of tranquil eyes, dark as black jade. In her fluster, she stepped back, only for him to catch her with a gentle, steady hand.

That was their first meeting. He was sixteen then.

As the most honored legitimate princess of D Ning, Gu Shutong had special permission to study alongside the princes in Minghua Hall. She read the classics and histories, studied the art of ruling a country, and practiced archery, horsemanship, and swordsmanship.

They met for the second time at Minghua Hall. From then on, Gu Shutong remembered his name: Yan Qi.

In a classroom full of men, he never hesitated to praise her, telling her she had a natural talent for archery and horsemanship. He would discreetly shield her from the probing or ingratiating gazes of others, and he remembered every word she said to him, bringing her unusual little gifts rarely seen in the palace.

Sixteen-year-old Yan Qi was so wonderful that, no matter how the years passed, he would forever remain a sixteen-year-old boy in her heart. He was so wonderful that even after she came to resent him in many ways, she could hardly bring herself to hold it against him.

But back then, she was young and naive, convinced that whatever she wished for, she could have.

She wanted Yan Qi to become her consort.

*

Yan Qi was the son of the Grand Secretariat, cool and noble, with the clear elegance of a moonlit breeze. At seven, he wrote the renowned Essay on the Mysterious Pivot, and everyone said his talent for governing was in no way inferior to his father's.

From childhood, he had only one ambition: to serve the realm, and to assist a worthy sovereign in bringing peace and order to the people.

He had no interest in entertainment, fine food, or romance. In his heart, there was only his country and its people.

Until he met Gu Shutong.

Her affection was hidden in the way she looked at him, tucked into their repeated chance encounters, and wrapped in the sachets she embroidered for him and the scriptures she copied out by hand. It was all so obvious that he knew.

But if he became a princess's consort, he could never serve as an official. He would never be able to enter government service.

There was no way to have everything in life, and he had never had a choice.

To hold office was to fulfill its duties. He could not stand by while the people suffered, and he could not give up his position as Grand Secretariat for love.

So the sachet fell into a brazier and burned to ash; the scriptures scattered in the wind and returned to dust.

He refused her.

Yet he knew all too well that he would probably never meet anyone else who loved him as she did.

Another spring came. Gu Shutong, now a married woman, gripped a long sword and charged into the capital, her red robes fluttering.