The Tool-Like Side of a Perfect Life

Yan Zhilan transmigrated into a chaotic age of aristocratic clans and political turmoil, much like the Eastern Jin dynasties.

The good news: she started life at the top, born a noble young lady of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s most powerful clan. Her family commanded three hundred thousand troops on the northern frontier and held a monopoly on the capital’s military forces and affairs. Their rule was as solid as a fortress.

The bad news: the imperial court was suppressing the aristocratic clans, common-born officials were rising, and the political order established by the clans was collapsing, heralding a time of chaos.

She would escape the fate of “the swallows that once nested in the halls of the Wang and Xie families now fly into the homes of common folk,” and keep her noble life from being crushed to mud amid the turmoil.

With the whole political game in her hands, she became a strategist working behind the scenes at the Dingyuan Marquis’s estate, stirring up storms in court.

Her father relied on her, and her brothers admired her.

Only she knew that the hand moving the pieces was plotting not only over the court and the empire, but also against that sworn enemy next door!

His family, the Duke of State Protecting’s household, were civil officials. Her family, the Dingyuan Marquis’s household, were military commanders. Both were powerful aristocratic clans, the two pillars of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and both wielded immense authority. One civil, one military, they ruled the realm alongside the emperor.

Shen Yan ruling the realm together?!

Bah!

Their relationship was delicate, and they were always at each other’s throats! The aristocratic clans fought viciously to seize power!

But when common-born officials rose, the imperial clan turned against itself, and the people lost heart, just as the final pillar of the dynasty was about to break...

“Shen Yundan, let’s join forces...”

[Side story]

Yan Zhilan: “Father, brothers, the crisis is upon us. Our only way out is for the Shen and Yan families to join forces.”

Eldest brother: “Join forces? Easier said than done. Why would the Shen family agree?”

Second brother: “Exactly, little sister. Just because you went to see Shen Yundan? What did he promise you?”

Third brother: “What’s your relationship with him? Why would he meet with you and you alone?”

Yan Zhilan: “Our relationship? Nothing special. It’s just... I slept with him. I stayed at his place last night and only came back this morning.”

Father: “...”

Her three brothers: “!!!”

The male lead is a composed young gentleman from a family steeped in poetry, learning, and propriety. He seems gentle and refined, but inside he is decisive and merciless.

The female lead seems calm and ruthless, but underneath she’s a spoiled, headstrong girl. She loves teasing the male lead and watching his composed, gentle face turn red.

But a true hunter always appears as prey...

It seems like Yan Zhilan is the one overstepping, climbing over walls and trespassing every few days, testing the limits of his boundaries... But in truth, Shen Yundan’s gentle manner of speaking, his serene delivery of words with hidden barbs, his effortless elegance, the thoughtful, admiring glances he sometimes casts her way... and the emotional support he knows exactly how to provide! Those are the hooks he casts in silence... So who exactly has the other wrapped around their finger?

There’s no harem scheming, only political struggles. There are laughs and tears. The story uses a woman’s perspective to show the choices women make in a desperate situation, and a man’s perspective to reveal their pragmatic side. Amid schemes both covert and overt, the leads explore what the purest love in the world really looks like.

Their contest of wits is cold and merciless, yet their boundaries loosen little by little. They know it’s dangerous, but they can’t help drawing closer, even... becoming consumed by each other.

The heroine takes the initiative to flirt, and the hero indulges her helplessly. Their feelings deepen by degrees throughout the story, from a flutter of excitement, to being captivated, to falling completely... This is a portrait of what it means to be true soulmates.

The ending is thought-provoking, and the bonus chapters are even better.

This is a lighthearted, sweet romance that won’t disappoint. Dive in without worry. The leads’ mutual testing and teasing is utterly charming. The supporting cast are more than stock characters, with full personalities and complex humanity.

The capital’s three beauties and the noble young masters all have their own personalities and charms.

Jing Prince’s heir Zhao Ji was a renowned and talented man about town in the capital. As a young man, he studied at Songshan Academy. One day, after drinking heavily at a banquet, he took up his brush and wrote a poem about the noble young ladies who were his classmates:

The mist over Zhiyuan clears, orchid smoke drifting away,

The vine around Tang blossoms bears a clean, fragrant scent.

A bright breeze rings through the pines,

Three beauties shine in the capital like jade.

From then on, the reputations of Yan Zhilan, Shen Tangluo, and Su Qingci, the capital’s three beauties, spread throughout the city...

[Bonus chapter] Songshan Academy: A Discussion of Poetry

Zhao Ji dipped his brush in ink. Almost without thinking, he swept it across the page in one fluid flourish:

“Song of Wild Abandon”

Mount Ji rises, towering into the clouds,

The Zhao wanderer sings wildly, whistling into the gale!

Sword energy pierces the skies, shooting at the stars,

Poetic passion surges like waves, swallowing the rainbow!

I laugh at kings and lords, all no better than filth,

Drunk, I gather the Milky Way into my arms.

One day, should I achieve my lofty ambition,

I’ll make heaven and earth weigh lightly in my palm!

At Zhao Ji’s provocative look, Shen Yundan touched his brush to the page:

“Watching the River”

Your heart is set on the river’s flow,

My thoughts drift with a quiet boat.

The Way stands firm though no way stays fixed,

Heaven’s balance transforms rain into gentle showers.

The teacher judged: “Yundan’s poem contains a world within, its spirit restrained and profound, with the gentleman’s virtue of being cautious even when alone. Young Master Zhao’s poem overflows with talent and grandeur. Both are excellent, though their styles differ, and neither can be judged superior.”

Though he had not declared a winner, everyone knew that when it came to dazzling poetic talent, Zhao Ji had deservedly taken first place. His confident, radiant expression returned, and he sent Shen Yundan a faintly challenging look. Shen Yundan simply put down his brush, entirely unruffled.

Theme: From pure feelings to the ultimate expression of love, looking at the traces history has left behind and learning from the past. Only by understanding where I come from can I know where I’m going.