My Third Year as a Cross-Dressing Official

(Main story completed)

High-and-Mighty Statesman x Smooth, Well-Connected Administrator

"Have you heard? Pei Yuan was implicated in the Eastern Palace's treason case and sentenced to exile!"

Pei Yuan was a prodigy from a young age, once Prince Qi's favorite and the most promising official at court. But when Prince Qi cast him aside, his political enemies, whom he'd offended over the years, attacked him mercilessly, bringing him to this fate.

Those implicated in the Eastern Palace's treason case never survived. The court kept silent about it.

Yet quite a few people risked their own safety to speak up for Pei Yuan before Prince Qi.

His colleagues said he was noble and handsome, kind-hearted and compassionate, and a good official for the age. His superiors said he was exceptionally gifted, able to see through darkness without being corrupted by it, and a rare talent for statecraft. Even his sworn enemy said his achievements outweighed his faults and that his crimes didn't warrant such a sentence.

His Highness Prince Qi neither agreed nor disagreed. Everyone thought the matter was beyond saving.

But no one knew about the warm bedchamber in Prince Qi's residence, or the skin as white as snow.

"They say you're a good official, a talent for statecraft." Prince Qi gathered the half-pillow of dark hair in his arms, revealing a tearful, lotus-like face. "How can you face them after this?"

Pei Yuan caught her breath and smiled. "Of course I can. I must be terribly likable, or Your Highness wouldn't have gone to such lengths for me."

Prince Qi gave a low, amused laugh and didn't deny it. Instead, he held her tightly against him and kissed her gently.

-

Zhao Hong, Prince Qi, was the current empress's nephew. He was The Outcast at court, yet wielded even more power than the crown prince.

Everyone knew he disliked women. Rumor had it that it had something to do with his mad mother.

There wasn't a single maid in his household. He seemed to have no feelings or desires, devoting himself entirely to government affairs.

Then a new administrator joined the Ministry of Revenue. Though only a low-ranking official of the ninth grade, he was a young prodigy with a photographic memory, a talent for arithmetic, and a humble, courteous, well-connected manner.

His Highness Prince Qi valued him highly. He personally taught him how to conduct himself as an official and in society, often keeping him by his side. They ate at the same table and even shared a bed. Then, one day, Prince Qi accidentally discovered that she wasn't a man.

The administrator was a woman.

In consideration of her past contributions, Prince Qi didn't expose her. Instead, he sent her away, hoping she would realize it was futile and give up.

But after an accident brought them together physically, their past came back to him. He found her more and more endearing, and resolved to marry her.

She acted as though nothing had happened.

She was young and full of ambition, unaware of the price a woman had to pay to stand at court, and determined to serve as an official in a woman's body.

To stop her, Prince Qi tried everything. Gentle persuasion did no good; sending her companions away did no good. He had no choice but to threaten her and keep her confined.

In the end, she could only settle down and be his wife.

War broke out, and Prince Qi led the army into battle. He planned to marry her when he returned.

But on the day he came back in triumph, all the civil and military officials of Chang'an had gathered. She stood beneath the steps of Hanyuan Hall, took off her official robe, and appeared before them in a vermilion dress.

That was the day Prince Qi learned what it meant to lose control.

-

Reader's guide:

* The story is told from the heroine's perspective and begins with a night of unexpected intimacy.

* One-on-one romance.

-

Theme: Make the most of your youth.