The Princesses' Search

In the early years of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, Li Longji ascended the throne, having just quelled the rebellion of Empress Wei, while undercurrents stirred ceaselessly in the court. Years earlier, a secret affair in the deep palace: Consort De and Empress Liu vanished without a trace, all case files were completely destroyed, and the truth was buried beneath the years. The two princesses, Jinxian and Yuzhen, were separated from their birth mother in childhood and spent years painstakingly searching for any trace of their kin. In the imperial prison, Wei Tuan'er is the sole survivor of that old case; no matter how she is interrogated, she always keeps the secret and says nothing. As emperor, Li Longji, constrained by royal dignity, could not openly reopen the old case. He and his two younger sisters devised a dangerous plan: they invited the swordsman Li Fei of Mount Zhongnan — a man whose appearance closely resembles that of Emperor Ruizong Li Dan — to be framed on fabricated charges and thrown into the imperial prison, impersonating the down-and-out Ruizong as an undercover inmate to win Wei Tuan'er's trust. A bitter-flesh stratagem quietly unfolded. Once Wei Tuan'er lowered her guard, they took the opportunity to help her escape from prison, while the others secretly followed, pursuing the investigation a thousand li along her escape route. Jinxian and Yuzhen stepped out of the deep palace and into the jianghu of the Guanzhong region. Along the way they passed through villages and towns and visited old acquaintances, while one after another came the grudges of the Baqiao Escort Agency, martial-world conflicts, and ambushes by remnants of the previous dynasty. Real and fake princes, old secret cases — jianghu chivalry and court intrigue entangled layer upon layer. The two princesses traveled across mountains and rivers, tracing their birth mother's whereabouts, little by little tearing away the veil over the palace power struggles of that year and digging out that deliberately buried royal secret. — Description from novelcodex.orgFull novel: The Princesses' Search — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠