Todays the day I’m getting adopted, into the Imperial family. I obviously know it is only to marry me of to the Hirachi. A weird decision of the imperial family to make. After all the Hiraci are gaining power extremely fast so all I can see that it’s a way to make a union. It would seem like the Imperial Emperor is believing in peace or his just stalling for time. I don’t really care.

Anyways today I am given the highest female rank within the Imperial house hold as a female daughter. Something unprecedented, I was going to be given the Rank of Imperial Crown Princess. Thus giving me an Imperial inheritance directly to the Imperial throne. Hehe, something very interesting I would like to think, others however don’t agree with me.

I myself don’t really want that even if I find it interesting but thats just how it is. The previous Crown prince most be really furious but the Emperor would never risk his own blood for a temporary alliance neither would the Hirachi.

“Mistress it’s time” my newly assigned maid politely said.

“I, I will be there in a moment.” I answer unsurely with my tender and graceful voice.

I was looking into the mirror, My long raven black hair, that reflected little of the light in the room. My body was a very curious one with huge breasts, wide hips, nice butt, thin waist with washboard abs. I had a lot of muscles hidden just beneath my thin layer of body fat that made my skin extra smooth to the touch. However my most eye grabbing feature was my face with it’s blood crimson eyes, that seemed to see more than most which they did as well. I had a body to kill for, did I want it? Not really although I’m not complaining.

Before I was to be adopted into the Imperial Household I was experiencing very harsh training for becoming a bodyguard for my sister so my body was built like a killer weapon. Our family was famous for the warriors they produced and I was one big experiment to create a killer machine that would help someone plow through politics and the like. Although I never studied the politics part fighting was my only skill so far. 

That was put to an abrupt stop when the Emperor decided that our household would give up a daughter for adoption to be sent to what they though of as suicide. I never got to learn those political manoeuvres which now would be more important than ever.

My face was apparently one of the most beautiful one people had seen, I find it hard to believe but marriage requests had never been a problem but my household had bigger plans for me, very mundane ones I think. I’ve never been treated like their real daughter to begin with, they always treated and spoiled my sister, twin sister. I found it hard to believe but she really was my twin sister. We didn’t have the same face, body type, hair colour. We were really different. She was sometimes mean and sometimes nice to me. I didn’t  quite understand why though and still don’t.

I myself was unsure I even belonged to the family as one who had reincarnated from another world entirely. I came from a Highly technological world where there was no magic unlike this one. This world where in a steampunk era, not quite victorian though. Magic existed but was not practiced a lot. It was a scarce resource and mages around the world were well sought after. They were more often than not extremely powerful beings with power beyond reckoning.

Now however I stand up in my red and black hanfu dress embodied with flowers and dragons, flowers for my femininity and dragons because of my soon to be position. I was dressed as purposely before my new title would belong to me. I would be in the heart of politics until I was wed of after all with my new position.

I walked out to the courtyard which features a little pond and a tree and a few lotus flowers. It was my courtyard to begin with as our family didn’t want to lose face even if they hated or disliked me. I had been assigned a maid for this very occasion and I already knew her loyalty laid with the family and she wouldn't budge, our family had a gift for  creating or finding extreme loyalty. That ability also comes with throwing away unloyalw hounds such as myself.

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As I arrived at the households main gate which had three big gates and  I walked through the main/middle one which was reserve for royalty and the household head only, my sister looks at me with a jealousy that I can’t quite understand, technically I’m being sent to my death. Being adopted as a Crown Princess is not very ideal especially when you don’t even share flesh and blood with the Imperial household. 

Outside I was greeted by my family waiting to say farewell, they wouldn't be my family much longer now. My father had his regular stern face while mother had a smirk on her face. They really didn't seem to like me, worst of all is I still haven't figured out why.

Our father was the Prime minister of the empire so he was a very powerful man he was even practically a part of there inner circle of it as well, that’s why he choose to end me instead of my sister.

As I walked down the stairs of the three gated entrance and was at the foot of my red sedan chair or wagon that would bring me to the palace. It was bigger than the ordinary family carriage, it was usually used for wives to be as they carried them to the palace, now it was going to be used for carrying the Crown Princess to be.

“Goodbye Lu Long and may you have a long and prosperous life.” father said in a stern manner, obviously not meaning it.

“Thank you father and Good bye, mother and Sister” I replied with my last courteous bow for my family. Then I turned around to enter the carriage.

“Mistress let me help you” Mei Li my new maid said stretching out a hand to help me on the carriage. I held out my hand and accepted her help as I walked into the carriage. The curtain closing the carriage was held by another servant to let me enter and once I did he closed it.

Father’s POV

The black sheep of our family is finally leaving. She was of great use in the end, she turned into a much more beautiful flower than I thought. It’s sad the emperor wanted a daughter from my family. 

Whats done is done and I can’t change that, I protected my real daughter and thats what really matters. I really am lucky for having that man bringing this adopted piece of shit to me all those years ago. Well it’s finally over for now except in the the three coming months I need to bow for her, she’ll after be my new Crown Princess. 

“Lets get going, we need to attend her ceremony.” I said unfazed.

“Certainly sir, prepare to move out” my chief servant announced.

Lu Long’s POV

The road was bumpy and I wasn’t used to riding a carriage as I was a trained guard, I either walked to rode on horse back.

The world I came from we had flying cars that flew high or low depending on road and destination. We were almost totally dependent on our technology, I was a man in my twenties studying about how things worked and how I could improve and invent new things to enhance our society. I wasn’t very good at my job or studying so I ended up becoming a programer and mechanic in the Robot industry which I turned out to be a genius in. Funny how I died at the hands of my own creation and now I find myself in the body of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen even with our technological advances.

As we get closer to the palace that I’ve only seen from afar I actually gets nervous, I’ve read my fair share of political conflicts and manoeuvres to know it is a dangerous place on top of that I’ve also read the novels of my previous world to add on top of that.

“Open the gate, the Imperial carriage is here.” a shout outside says.

I lift the curtain of the wagon and looks outside to se that we are at a huge entrance, it isn’t even the main one. I can see the bustling life outside of the palace walls. I wish I could have been born a commoner almost. It seemed peaceful enough for me.

The gate opened and the curtain fell back to its closed state with the absence of my hand.

“Mistress it’s time to get you prepared for the ceremony.” Mei Li says a little excited.

a servant hold up the curtain to let me out and I stand up to walk outside. When I get out I find myself in a courtyard that house some small houses for carriages and horses or steam engines to drag the carriages. I see Mei Li’s hand stretched out and I grab onto it to get of the carriage which I do gracefully.

I’m guided to a quarter which houses a mirror, a new set of ceremonial clothes a head piece that signifies my rank, it was specifically made for me and even the empress can only wish for such craftsmanship. My new rank did after all represent the Nation more than her, I was technically second only to the Emperor however she was my adoptive mother so I still had to show her my respect.

When looking around I see three maids entering the door and they introduces them selfs as Gong Li, Mei Jiang and Li Yang. They’re wearing maid hanfus while Gong li and Mei Jiang are wearing bright yellow ones, Li Yang is wearing a bright yellow one with light blue lining. They tell me that they have been assigned by the Emperor and the Empress to be my guides and handmaidens inside the Royal palace.

They helped me undress in my current dress into the ceremonial hanfu which were red with golden embodiment of a dragon and flowers. It truly was beautiful. My head was put into a elaborate style and a golden phoenix head piece was put onto of my hair.

“Milady, you truly look beautiful. We didn’t even need to put on make up on you.” Li Yang said earnestly.

It was true, my skin was already white enough and my face didn’t require any makeup really if not to make me look less beautiful.

The maids left me to my own device and I fell deep in thought. 

Is this really where I want to go with my life?. I would be doing something unheard of. Something impossible. Become the Crown Princess of one of the bigger empires, that currently still was a fairly strong patristical society. I would be doing what I dreamed of doing in my previous life, the impossible and proving it wrong for everyone. This however felt like a cheap victory. What if I really was being sent to deaths door? Could I change it? Could I prove myself wrong when I believed otherwise? I’m only 16 now  with many years left after all and now I’m entering the biggest stage you can perform on. The one where mistakes are not accepted. It had the biggest Rewards were but the biggest loses was ever more present. Could I win and play this play of power. What if I wasn’t the lead character then who am I? I don’t care, if I’m not the lead character then I’ll become the director of my own play.

My train of thinking was broken when Li Yang came back and said “Milday it’s time, are you ready for the ceremony?”

“Just a minute.” I said dejectedly. I raised my head and looked into the sealing while thinking, Am I really ready for life, am I ready for its changes or its change?.