The Rebel Princess

Original Title: 帝王业

Author: Mei Yu Zhe

Raw Link: Ling Long Si Fan

Male Lead: Zhou Yi Wei; Yang You Ning

Female Lead: Zhang Zi Yi

Synopsis:

A road to imperial power paved in bloodshed across a thousand miles;
a lifetime hand in hand, yet a beauty’s love becomes a fatal mistake…

She was the pride of the Wang clan of Langya, the deepest devotion of a generation’s heroic ruler, and the hidden architect behind the founding of an empire.

She was a traitor to the aristocratic clans, yet also the final guardian of her family; the criminal who overturned an imperial house, yet the strategist who helped establish two dynasties. She was a secret erased from official history, and a legend faintly preserved in unofficial tales.

Those who hated her would destroy an entire dynasty just to destroy her—only for their own blades to turn back upon themselves.

Those who loved her wished they had never met her in this lifetime, letting gratitude and affection end there, like swallows flying apart with no place left to mourn their farewell.

The man she loved repeatedly placed her in the gravest danger. Though they weathered half a lifetime of hardship together, in the end they could not share the same fate in life and death.

How does a woman move gracefully between ambition and elegance?

How does a woman fade quietly into the mists of history, leaving behind only her warmth and bearing?

Right and wrong are judged by later ages; gain and loss are known only to the hearts involved.

Born into a prestigious clan and possessing royal blood, Princess Wang Xuan of Shangyang—called A’Wu—once possessed everything most envied in the world: beauty, nobility, talent, and a childhood sweetheart. Yet she was born into a time of chaos, and unavoidable destiny thrust her into the center of political turmoil.

Xiao Qi, born into humble circumstances, rose from the ranks of common soldiers through military merit step by step until he became the powerful Prince of Yuzhang, commanding influence over the realm. His marriage to Wang Xuan was originally nothing more than a political bargain. Unexpectedly, however, a belated encounter changed both of their destinies. From then on, his iron-blooded life gained a promise to face life and death together, and an unwavering companion by his side.

The struggle between the imperial relatives and the royal house triggered a palace coup, while southern royal factions raised rebellion. Trapped in Huizhou on her journey back to the capital, Wang Xuan used her intelligence and strategy to seize the city, winning the first major victory of her political career. From that point onward, she and Xiao Qi embarked side by side on the long road toward imperial supremacy, their banners marching south as their horses thundered toward the imperial palace.

Yet the conflict between Wang Xuan’s aristocratic family and the rising military forces of humble origin was destined to become a deadly struggle. Torn between her husband’s clan and her birth family, between love and kinship, between the past and the present, Wang Xuan was forced to make one cruel choice after another.

Once a royal daughter, she returned to the palace as a conqueror, finally standing at the true pinnacle of power. Awaiting her were the ashes of faded splendor and scenes of desolation; treacherous political storms and dangers on every side; and the founding path of a new dynasty already unfolding beneath her feet.