Huo Guo (Two Volumes)

In the land of Weifang, the realm is divided among four kingdoms: Yan, Bi, Yi, and Cheng. Jiang Chenyu, the young daughter of Bi's Right Chancellor, is a lady of dignified bearing, gentle virtue, and refined grace, and she harbors feelings for Ji Ying, a young lord of the four great houses of the Ji clan. The two families had already agreed upon a marriage alliance, only for King Zhaoyin to shatter it with an imperial edict, ordering her to enter the palace on a chosen day. For the sake of her family, Jiang Chenyu has no choice but to accept the decree, yet she is unwilling to become merely a consort confined to the deep palace. She therefore volunteers to serve as Zhaoyin's strategist. Zhaoyin admires her courage and sends her on a mission to the kingdom of Cheng, ostensibly to offer birthday congratulations to the King of Cheng but secretly to gather intelligence. A seemingly casual decision thus sets the winds of the four kingdoms in motion. Framed by the line "With a thread as embroidery, one may weave the years; with the heart as embroidery, one may weave the realm," the book chronicles her journey from a passionate young girl to a queen who embodies the maternal ideal of the realm, and finally to a commanding female sovereign. Figures such as the Bai Ze worthy minister Ji Ying, the Ice Glass young lord Xue Cai, King He Yi of Yi, and the nation-toppling beauty Xi He are interwoven throughout, with political intrigue and emotional choices entangled at every turn, together unfurling a long scroll that blends ancient-style power struggle with a woman's self-awakening. The book is divided into six parts: Entering the Palace, Journey to Cheng, Upheaval, The Shattered Bi, The New Queen, and The Female Sovereign, and also includes side stories such as "Time Aboard the Boat" and "A Dream Through the Years."