She was born of a rich and powerful family, a noblewoman whose abilities were no less than any man. He was of a humble background and rose up the ranks, the iron-willed man on the armored horse who was filled with great ambitions. A deal made for the sake of power and control severed the fated affinity with the one whom she had grown up with. An encounter that came later but it penned the beginning of a vow of life and death together, a vow on which they would stand, shoulder to shoulder, anywhere they were in the world.
Struggles for power. Rebellions of the palace. His horse would trample its way to the imperial palace to fulfill his ruling conquest to become emperor.
For old enmities that continued their entanglement, for the survival of her clan, she once again stepped into the palace walls, bringing about great change to the political situation of the realm. When they met once again, they were merely passersby in each other’s lives. The peach blossoms had all fallen, and though hands had been clasped in promise to go through life and death together, in the end, it turned out to be merely loneliness within that empire of magnificence.
The Shangyang Junzhu [noblewoman] 王儇 Wang Xuan, born of a distinguished family, with imperial blood running through her veins had once possessed the most coveted things of the world: beauty, honour, exceptional talent, and a man whom she loved and had grown up with. Yet, she was born into chaotic times, and fate she could not evade thrust her into the eye of the tempest waves.
萧綦 Xiao Qi, a man of humble beginnings, who, from when he had joined the army, had step by step risen up into a high position due to his military accomplishments until he had become the Yuzhang Prince [a bestowed title, not one inherited by blood] whose power could shake the world. His marriage to Wang Xuan had been merely a political transaction between two powerful parties, but unexpectedly, this later encounter changed the fate of these two people. From that moment onwards, Xiao Qi’s life now carried a promise between two people to be forever together, be it in life or death, and a resolve to walk side by side with her.
The dispute between imperial relatives not of the direct line and the imperial family lead to a mutiny. The imperial relatives of the southern lands gathered military forces in a rebellion. Wang Xuan, originally trapped in the city of Huizhou on her return journey to the imperial capital, captured the city into her control using her cleverness and hence took her first victory as she entered politics. From henceforth, she, shoulder to shoulder with Xiao Qi, stepped onto the journey towards an emperor’s ruling conquest, with their banner directed to the south and their horses trampling their way to the imperial palace. However, over and over again she was presented with choices – her husbands’ family or her own family, the man she loved or familial love, things of the past or those of the present – and time and again she had to make the brutal choice.
[Ebook][Eng Translation][Nghiệp Đế Vương][제왕업] [Audiobook] [Radiodrama][Drama]
Will be trying to add a couple of the “classics” into SSB over the next while.
This book was written almost a decade ago and definitely makes it onto the classics list of romance novels. The leads often make it onto various “top” lists, too. It’s been quite a few years since I read this one myself, so the review is going to be a little vague. However, just keep in mind that it has been republished several times and to this day, it receives many praises from Chinese readers.
This novel is packed with political maneuvering, battles for power, and behind the scenes scheming. Battlefields, sieges on cities, siding and maneuvering between government officials, plotting within the imperial palace, and scheming by the women of the palace, betrayals, friend turning against friend — it’s got all of that.
It is a time of political instability in the realm. Wang Xuan, fondly known by those close to her as A’Wu, is married off to Xiao Qi, a man with his own honour code but also with great ambitions, in a political marriage. An originally loveless marriage, however, turns into one of deep trust and love between two equals. A’Wu and Xiao Qi are indeed equals. Xiao Qi’s military prowess causes fear in all the lands, but his honour has won him loyal followers. He is brilliant, not just on the battlefield but in political ways as well. A’Wu was a young miss who grew up loved and doted on, but her intelligence shows from the very beginning. Though she, herself, holds no ambitious desires, for the man she loves, she is willing to support him in every way to fulfill his emperor’s conquest.
Amid the tension and sometimes heartbreak that comes with the tumultuous setting, the love between the leads is pure and unshakable. Even the return of A’Wu’s childhood sweetheart, although it places her in a tough position as he is on an opposing side, does not affect their marriage. That’s probably a saving grace, like a light within the novel because overall, I remember the novel carrying an oppressive feeling, like you’re suffocating. Each word said, each step taken, each person trusted, A’Wu must take into careful consideration. In such an environment, one’s nerves are always strung. As a reader, it’s exciting but it also weighed my heart down heavily.
The ending… I deliberately didn’t say whether this was HE or BE. It really depends on what to you is a happy ending. In the end, their emperor’s conquest was fulfilled. All the hard work, all the life she and he threw into this, came to fruition. The casualties were many, both in numbers as well as physically and emotionally. And the final picture we have of this couple… let’s just say it is very similar to Hua Xu Yin’s epilogue. If you hadn’t read it, you’d probably be okay, but once you do… 🙁
thanks hoju for the lovely review!! this book seems very epic and a little sad..especially with the ending…
I finished Vol 1 some time ago and really liked it… but kept dragging my feet with starting Vol 2 because of the things I heard. It just seems to be a dark path I don’t want to explore -__-
Can anyone spoil the ending? If you don’t wanna do it here, do it on novelupdates spoiler page for Emperor’s Conquest.
Hello
I watched this series but I have heard that they change the end of this fiction. Is this right?