The Wicked Queen
Instead of the very typical wise, gentle, beautiful, skilled, etc. female protagonist in an asian harem that wins over the emperor (or prince, or prime minister, or whatever) from the wicked Empress, this story is centered around the wicked Empress as the protagonist. The story shows her motivations, reasoning, and thoughts as she goes around being a servant-slapping, self-centered, sometimes misunderstood (more often than not, NOT misunderstood), "Wicked Queen". Meaning that, she is expected (for certain reasons) by everyone to become the Emperor's proper wife (the Empress), but (for other certain reasons) she is married to him as a Queen (Concubine) with the belief that she will one day force the situation to be as she wants, such that she will wind up Empress. It is interesting to watch the dynamics between this woman and the man she fell obsessively in love with, the Emperor. Additionally, it is interesting that they include PTSD/psychiatric disorders as a characteristic of this protagonist. Lovely full colored art, as well. The story definitely makes you want to slap the protagonist and her husband frequently though. lol.
Warm Wedding