A Spring Branch

A sly, charming, universally adored receiving lead x a cold-faced, unexpectedly adorable princess-general pursuing lead

Ling Yuan was the only daughter of a powerful family. Spoiled from childhood, she grew into a genius with an arrogant streak.

Then everything changed overnight. The emperor ordered the extermination of the entire Ling household, and a sudden fire burned everything to ashes. Only Ling Yuan managed to escape.

She went from living in splendor to losing her family, and her status plummeted.

Everyone thought the young lady had long since died, until they began to notice...

Why does the strategist in the frontier province look so much like her?

Why does the head of the foremost merchant house look so much like her?

Why does the holy maiden of some southern tribe look so much like her?

And why does the man in Princess An Zhao's bed still look so much like her?!

Young Lady, where did you get so many identities? And where are you pointing that sword?

Ling Yuan smiled faintly. “It's nothing much. I just killed the emperor.”

But there is one thing she must make clear:

She is really not Princess An Zhao's lover.

Li Chang'an is the second princess, and should have been living a life of luxury in the palace. But she has no interest in golden hairpins and fine clothes, and instead took up the sword inherited from her mother's family.

Her elder brother is kind to her, yet resents her for earning distinction at a young age.

The emperor dotes on her, yet fears her unmatched swordsmanship.

So from childhood, she has not dared to love any possessions or make any friends. Little by little, she built a shell around herself and cut herself off from the world.

She imprisoned herself in her own world, becoming the merciless, bloodthirsty Princess An Zhao.

Then she met the unexpected: a madwoman who didn't even care whether she lived or died, yet was so passionate and real that she shattered Li Chang'an's false shell, then left with a carefree flourish.

Li Chang'an knew they were destined to be enemies, and that beneath the woman's sweet smile lay nothing but deception and exploitation. So why did her heart tremble so violently? Why did it hurt?

Li Chang'an's voice shook, but her grip on the other woman was tight:

“You were the one who came close first.”

“Lie to me one more time.”

“Take pity on me.”

One-to-one, both leads have no other partners. Pure love is the best!

The story is set in a feudal society, with some inspiration from the Tang dynasty. Naturally, people's attitudes aren't as progressive as they are today, but I'll avoid certain unsavory things in the story. No misogynistic slurs, no sexual assault. Male villains who objectify women will all get beaten up.

There are male supporting characters. The cast's female-to-male ratio is 3:1, but the female characters have more focus. In terms of the plot, the ratio is 7:1.

The highest intelligence belongs to a woman, the greatest strength belongs to a woman, the greatest beauty belongs to a woman... and so on. That's just how I write.

The author is open to suggestions. Feel free to leave them in the comments. I'll read every comment and make reasonable changes.

Also, since I've been criticized for this before, I'll mention it: I'm a multishipper. My works will feature various sexual orientations, and I don't charge for them. If you want to avoid anything, avoid it yourself. There's no need to insult me. I won't delete comments unless I have a reason to. If a comment disappears, it was deleted by a moderator.

Theme: Truth, goodness, and beauty