She Disguised Herself as a Man and Passed the Imperial Exam, Becoming the Capital's Beloved

[Woman disguised as a man | court politics | mutual push and pull | marriage before love | imperial decree of marriage] Liu Qinghe, daughter of a Suzhou weaver, disguises herself as a man and takes the imperial examinations to clear her wrongfully imprisoned father’s name. She overcomes every obstacle and earns the top spot in the spring examinations. At last, she thinks, she can plead her case before the Emperor. But an imperial decree ordering her to marry the princess makes her the royal son-in-law instead. At the princess’s residence, the princess’s tests grow bolder by the day, while Liu Qinghe’s chest binding grows tighter and tighter. Then someone stops her in the street, claiming to be carrying the Prince Consort’s child. The princess can’t hold back her laughter. At the princess’s residence, Liu Qinghe desperately explains, “Your Highness, I truly don’t know that woman.” “I naturally believe you, Prince Consort.” The princess reaches out and undoes her chest binding, smiling languidly. “I’m simply curious. You have a certain ability, so why don’t I?” Liu Qinghe: “...” One princess isn’t enough. Gu Changqing, who came second in the examinations, is also looking at her more and more strangely. He makes things difficult for her at every turn in public, then flirts and tests her every night in private. At a royal banquet, he sees a prince from an enemy kingdom flirting with her. Drunk, Gu Changqing declares loudly in front of all the court officials, “Lord Liu can only be mine.” The officials erupt in commotion. “But Lord Liu is a man!” “So what if she’s a man? The person I’ve loved from the very beginning... has always been her.”