A Slanted Red Painting

Prince Ke shouted, "You shrew, don't go! You set my entire palace on fire, and now you're running away?" Sheng Fu put her hands on her hips. "You did something like that behind my back. Burning down your palace was getting off easy, okay?" Liu He stepped forward and blocked Prince Ke. "Don't bully people! I'll make you pay!" The noble young ladies of the Mu Xi Thicket arrived in droves, carrying stools and munching on melon seeds. "The show's starting! When are they going to fight?" Sheng Fu grabbed a stool and hurled it at them. "You've got perfectly good lives, yet all you do is watch the show. Don't you have enough drama in your own lives? You're all drama queens!"

How about a grand game of strategy? Guess who's really pulling all the strings, and who will have the last laugh.

Notes: 1. This story is set against the backdrop of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties. Social customs were open-minded, and men and women were treated equally. Although wars were constant, cultures from the Central Plains and other regions also blended together. The timeline of this book does not correspond to actual history, and all characters are fictional.

2. Langjun and xiao niangzi were both terms used at the time for unmarried women. The title xiaojie only appeared during the Song Dynasty. It was first used for women in brothels, and later gradually became an honorific for unmarried women.