There is an empire named Qingzhao, where the throne is passed down through generations of women.
Everyone honors the empress. Women hold office, and women are in charge of the outside world.
Tan Ying is the third daughter of the Qingzhao empress and the only child of the empress's principal consort.
Yet ever since she could remember, she had never grown up in the Qingzhao imperial palace. She lived with her birth father in Zhaodu, Anzhou.
Her father was quiet and reserved, yet possessed exceptional grace.
But he died without ever seeing his wife, the empress.
Tan Ying had no choice but to bring her father's coffin to Qingdu and see the place for herself. Whether her mother was obsessed with power or buried in her mausoleum, Tan Ying was driven by a little curiosity and resentment all the same.
Xiao Yize is the son of the chancellor and the celebrated Snow-Listening Gentleman of Qingdu.
Everyone says he is breathtakingly beautiful, then sighs over his frail health. He's like a fragile porcelain vase, unfit to be a husband.
At Hongluo Temple, one glance from her made him reveal half his true self.
When that woman leapt, his heart was thrown into disarray.
Later, he thought: Since she's a princess everyone mocks, and he's a sickly man everyone looks down on,
why not pair up and get married?
A lazy, rational, career-driven princess of Suichuan as the heroine VS a gentle, scheming, love-struck "sickly beauty" as the hero
"I'll wield a spear for you, ride into battle for you, and guard the realm for you."
"Across the mountains and rivers, throughout the empire and the two capitals of Qingzhao, only I, Xiao Yize, am worthy of you."
Content warning: This is a matriarchal world, and the main couple is monogamous.
The only difference between men and women in this story is who holds the power. There are no plot points such as men giving birth, and the men in the story won't be deliberately demeaned.
Reader's guide:
1. The heroine's journey from princess to empress follows a matrilineal line and involves competition among male suitors.
2. A supporting character transmigrates; it is categorized as an ancient-setting transmigration story.
3. The world includes some original worldbuilding and subverts conventions.
4. This is not a gender-bender story; it's a straight romance in terms of sexual roles. To reiterate, the only difference between men and women in this story is who holds the power!
A note:
I decided to write this after finding the gender-swapped version of The Great Passage especially interesting. I wanted to write a story about a matriarchal dynasty, and I hope you enjoy it~
Theme: Save yourself, then see all living beings. Oppose imperialism and feudalism; pursue freedom and equality.
