The Young Master of the Xie Family Wants to Be Empress

As imperial power declined and the royal line dwindled, Sheng Yao was brought to the Eastern Palace and disguised as a boy. For ten years, she trembled through life as a false crown prince.

Perhaps it was retribution for powerful ministers bullying their sovereign. The family of the current court's most powerful official had a son renowned throughout the land for his extraordinary talent and brilliance, but when his mother died, grief damaged his mind, leaving him confused ever since.

A famous scholar in court once asked Chancellor Xie about the aspirations of his sons. What did the fourth young master say?

"Xie Ju aspires to become empress."

The entire court burst into laughter. The story even reached the streets and spread across the land: Chancellor Xie's family had a little empress.

...Until Crown Prince Sheng Yao's true sex was exposed in public.

The sky came crashing down.

Not just for Sheng Yao, but for Xie Ju too.

*

It must be that the Xie clan's fate aligned with Heaven, a sign foretold by prophecy. The chancellor immediately decided to make Sheng Yao the puppet empress apparent.

And of course, his Fourth Young Master Xie had to marry the crown princess.

Sheng Yao had no choice but to wait for him at the palace gates.

First, she was dazzled by his astonishingly exquisite looks. Then she watched the beautiful man stride over in a fury.

...Empress?

...Right, I'm your delicate empress. Remember to pamper me.

Sheng Yao: ? He seems kind of dim. Or maybe not so dim?

*

The fourth young master, Xie, was confident in his talents, skilled in both letters and arms, and never caught unprepared. But as the youngest son, he watched his elder brothers fight tooth and nail for power. Xie Ju decided it was better to lie low from the start.

When a famous scholar pressed him for an answer, he made something up on the spot, never guessing that years later, he'd be given a female crown prince as his bride.

Grinding his teeth, Xie Ju had no choice but to enter the palace.

And so began a life of working himself to the bone to make sure they both survived until morning.

Of course, even if he starved to death or died right there, he would never actually become her absurd empress.

But he hadn't expected the young princess to have such lofty ambitions. Her first priority was her country and its people, her second was every kind of workhorse, and only then came everything else.

Unfortunately, Xie Ju fell into the category of "everything else." He couldn't compete with the country and its people, so he had to get ahead of those workhorses first.

A consort who also had to be her advisor and strategist, and even lead troops into battle?!

So when he heard that the young princess planned to take a consort before ascending the throne,

Xie Ju tossed aside the brush and map he was holding.

He rushed off to confront her, only to discover Sheng Yao secretly plotting with that "seductive consort."

"Let's do something big. Don't let him know," Sheng Yao said calmly. "I have a plan."

"Let's bring down the country."

Xie Ju: ?

Reader's Guide

A timid, idea-generating crown princess who just wants to survive x a proud, self-confident, foxlike beauty and military strategist,

Happy ending, one-on-one romance, not a matriarchal world. Absurdist serious drama. A timid puppy versus a clingy fox.

The hero is very capable, good enough to become a general or chancellor, and is strong in his own right. He also has a knack for being outdone by the heroine. The heroine grows into a strong ruler. A young, wise empress, with a proud, formidable male lead as her empress consort. That's the flavor.

Inspired by the late Han and Wei-Jin periods, with rival warlords fighting for supremacy. Some very strange court intrigue.

#I'm powerful, but I still want to be your sidekick

#A ruler who loses her country and a foolish empress make a perfect pair

#A minister is just a wife, that's perfectly normal

#We're short-staffed on this nation-building project, so you can do all the work

#I wanted to live off my wife, but she smashed the bowl

#A lazy dog turns into a workaholic for love

#I'm working overtime like crazy, but my boss wants to stir up trouble

#Winning hearts while vying for supremacy

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