After Refusing a Political Marriage, the Little Princess Rules the Realm

Everyone says that among women, only the empress and empress dowager hold the highest status and the greatest power.

But she disagrees. If the positions of empress and empress dowager are so exalted, why do no men fight to claim them? Why is a woman still The Outcast, even after rising as high as she can?

Just after Zhong Chengyu's mother died, her place in the imperial genealogy was altered, forcing her to recognize her enemy as her mother. In public, she was obedient and timid. In secret, she killed without blinking. Sweet on the outside, dark within, she never let the blood on the blade in her hand dry.

Zhong Chengyu said, "If you dare answer when I call you Mother Consort, you'll pay for it with your life."

She refused to accept her fate. She fought heaven and fate alike. If her birth father was heartless and faithless, then she would cast him aside. If the position of empress could not do justice to the hardships her mother had endured, then she would force her father to become the retired emperor. From then on, she would make him kneel and pay his respects to her every day.

Wearing a dragon robe, Zhong Chengyu stood before Emperor Xuanyong, her gaze full of contempt. "Imperial Father... no, I should call you a member of the Zhong clan. Since you say that princesses are supported by all the people, then they must contribute to the people in return."

"You have been supported by the people for decades. Now it's your turn to contribute to them." She turned and ordered the servants, "Put the wedding dress on the Zhong clan member and send him off to marry into another state at once."

Emperor Xuanyong flew into a rage. "Insolent wretch! I am the one who..."

Zhong Chengyu cut him off. "I am the one sitting on the dragon throne now. Like father, like daughter. Thank you for raising me so well."

"A willowy, delicate figure is what makes someone lovable. Give my new husband some mute medicine."

Wearing a dragon robe, Zhong Chengyu stood atop the city wall amid wind and snow, looking down at the wedding procession as it gradually disappeared into the distance. The corners of her mouth lifted, and her gaze was resolute. "The dragon throne is nothing more than an inanimate object. Who says a woman can't sit on it?"