A long, long time ago, there was Country. A prosperous country ruled by a kind and just Emperor. All was well. Trade was good. The empire was flourishing.
The Emperor had a loving Empress and two young children; a Princess and a Prince. Both cheerful little things, blissfully unaware of all the thorns inside their very own home.
Then came a day when the Emperor passed away. The Crown Princess a mere nine years old and the young princess two years her younger.
A fight broke out in the royal family. The emperor had older brothers, wolves hiding in sheepskin.
The Empress tried, but a frail woman always under the protection of her own father then her husband. She soon gave in to all the pressure of the court. Losing her sanity. The old empress dowager watched from afar, not truly understanding who was wronged and who was doing the wrong.
At the age of ten, the crown prince was placed on the throne.
The Crown Princess at the age of twelve became the shadow that the young emperor needed to prosper.
During the day she would fight in court as the chief adviser while at night to go undercover to dirty her hands, for there were things that the emperor was unable to do.
A cold calculating adviser by day and a silent guardian by night.