She Was Written to Die, So She Seized the Throne Instead

"Welcome back to the mansion, Princess."

Xiao Li stepped out of her carriage and walked toward the mansion, guards lined up neatly on either side of the entrance.

She was already inside when she suddenly turned back to look at a man in green robes standing by the entrance. He had a delicate, refined appearance, with fine features and striking eyes. While not devastatingly handsome, his looks were certainly distinctive. Yet, she couldn’t recall ever seeing him before, though he felt vaguely familiar.

"Shuang Han?"

The man in green was indeed Shuang Han. Surprised that the Princess had suddenly called out to him, he paused for a second before breaking into a smile. "At your service, Princess."

Xiao Li looked him up and down. "You look quite respectable in those clothes. Do you know anything about management?"

Xiao Li was suddenly reminded that her Princess Mansion was in need of a Chief Steward. She was someone who valued ability, but also appearances. Shuang Han’s face and attire fit her image of a Chief Steward perfectly.

Shuang Han shook his head. "I do not."

"If you don’t know, you can learn. I don’t keep useless people in my Princess Mansion."

With that, she raised her hand and beckoned an old steward over. "From now on, you will teach Shuang Han how to manage the affairs of this mansion. Hold nothing back, and teach him as quickly as you can."

The old steward hastily agreed. "Yes, Your Highness."

Xiao Li was quite wealthy. Setting aside her fiefdom, the countless affairs of the mansion itself, not to mention her manors and shops, all required people to manage them.

Her original dowry had included hundreds of servant households. In the past, many had taken advantage of her predecessor’s indifference to management, feigning obedience while secretly engaging in corruption and embezzlement.

But in the past six months, Xiao Li had idly examined the account books. She had the two most brazen thieves executed and made Yang Jun parade their severed heads around.

She didn’t even have to say a word. The other embezzlers desperately coughed up everything they had stolen.

After a reshuffling of staff, and with Xiao Li’s bloody track record, not a single servant or steward in the Princess Mansion dared to entertain any crooked ideas.

They didn’t know how other households disciplined their servants, but their master, the Princess, truly would kill anyone she found guilty.

Should they work diligently for double pay to support their families, or should they succumb to a moment of greed and ruin their next three generations? As long as they weren’t fools, the choice was obvious.

The old steward was one of those pragmatic enough to read the writing on the wall. That, combined with his genuine competence, was why he had been promoted to a steward in the Princess Mansion.

Now that the Princess had told him to teach, he would teach. If he did a good job, he’d have fulfilled his orders and might even get a reward. But if he tried any funny business... well, who knew what the consequences would be.

The old steward said to Shuang Han, "You’ve finally made it, kid. It’s obvious the Princess plans to promote you."

Shuang Han didn’t reply, his gaze lost in the direction where the hem of the Princess’s dress had vanished.

’He hadn’t stayed in the Princess Mansion just to become a steward.’

’The Princess obviously liked him. Her admiration and astonishment when they first met couldn’t have been fake.’

’But ever since she learned where he came from and decided to keep him, she hadn’t given him a second glance.’

’Everyone says opera singers are lowly, but he had been sold to a theater at the age of five. All he had ever learned was how to take the stage and perform.’

’He had suffered so much to finally become a lead performer. How could he bear to take off his costume?’

’He wanted to perform for the Princess. He, on the stage, dancing for her and her alone. She, in the audience, her eyes fixed only on him.’

’Not to learn how to be some steward...’

* * *

Xiao Li had sent people to keep an eye on Prince Chen and Prince Yanping, and a report had just arrived.

Prince Yanping was searching everywhere for a physician to cure his poison and apparently hadn’t left the Capital City in the last two days.

Prince Chen had been locked up in the Heavenly Prison, but he was ambushed and abducted en route to an interrogation with the Emperor.

Xiao Li: "..." ’For a moment, she didn’t know whether to lament the Emperor’s incompetence or Prince Chen’s ridiculously strong plot armor.’

And before Prince Chen was abducted, members of the Wang Family had visited the Heavenly Prison.

’So, it was probably Prince Chen who took Liu Xueyin. And the Wang family knows Wang Shiqi died at her hands.’

’But... so what?’

’It was a fact that Wang Shiqi had tried to help Jiang Yu’er kill me. And since Jiang Yu’er and Prince Chen are on the same side, in a way, they are also responsible for Wang Shiqi’s death.’

’No matter how you look at it, I don’t think I was wrong to kill someone who was trying to harm me.’

’As for revenge from the Wang family, when have I ever been afraid of retaliation?’

’If they want to test their luck, they can bring it on.’

"Princess, Mr. Song is here to see you."

Xiao Li: "Why is he here?"

Song Junzhan had just taken Cen An to his residence. It hadn’t been long at all.

Still, Xiao Li had a good idea why he was here. She calmly set down her medicine bowl. "Let him in."

It was Song Junzhan’s first time at the Princess Mansion.

The mansion was unfamiliar to him—grand, luxurious, and heavily guarded. An ordinary person would need immense courage just to step inside. But because it was the home of the one he had sworn himself to, his heart remained steady.

"Song Junzhan greets the Princess."

"Regarding today’s events, I was presumptuous. I have come to apologize and ask for your forgiveness. I hope you will listen to my explanation."

Xiao Li’s brow twitched. "Stop with all the ’this subordinate’ nonsense. Just speak normally."

Song Junzhan hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "Alright."

Xiao Li dismissed Hong Yue and the others. She gestured for Song Junzhan to sit, then personally poured a cup of tea and slid it over to him. "Go on."

Song Junzhan took a deep breath, as if suppressing a wave of emotion. Then, in the calmest voice he could manage, he said, "Long ago, there were three leaders who championed the revival of the imperial examinations. Besides my grandfather and Grandpa Wan, the third was... Imperial Tutor Feng."

"The Grand Tutor’s grandfather was the salutatorian in the final imperial examination of the previous dynasty. The Feng Family understands the significance of the examinations better than anyone. The Grand Tutor, along with his two closest friends, persuaded the late Emperor to initiate this reform. But at the critical moment, he abandoned his friends and sided with the late Emperor, becoming a traitor."

"The Song and Wan Families’ assets were seized, and they were exiled. My grandfather and the others were publicly beheaded. Yet the Feng Family remained untouched. To this day, they are still prosperous, wealthy, and highly respected."

Song Junzhan stood and bowed deeply. "This is my personal vendetta. It has nothing to do with you, Princess. I lost my composure today and spoke out of turn. I came to apologize for my transgression."

’His hatred for the Feng Family was his own affair. He couldn’t let it interfere with the Princess’s plans. He had pledged his loyalty to her; expecting her to cater to his emotions or adopt his enemies as her own would be the highest form of insubordination, a complete reversal of the natural order of things.’

Xiao Li could sense Song Junzhan’s aversion to the Feng Family, but she never imagined this was the reason.

’Traitors cannot be forgiven.’

The Song Family was destroyed, leaving him the sole survivor. It was only natural that he would lose control of his emotions for a moment.

"This one time only."

’The circumstances were extenuating, so she wouldn’t hold this one transgression against him. But there would not be a next time.’

’She took on subordinates to assist her, not to influence her decisions, let alone control her.’

’It was good that he understood this. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be worthy of standing before me.’

"Thank you, Princess."

Song Junzhan took his leave. Xiao Li recalled the sense of unease she’d felt around the Grand Tutor and the Emperor. She hadn’t cared about the Feng Family before, but now, it seemed an investigation was necessary.

’Is that old Grand Tutor plotting something?’

Just as she was mulling this over, Yang Jun burst in. "Princess, that opera singer... Shuang Han... he jumped into the pond in full costume!"

Xiao Li: "?"

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