I Once Hoped to Grow Old with You

[Transmigration into an ancient setting + unrequited love + tragic romance, everyone gets a bad ending] There are a few fantastical elements

After Ye Chu is “betrayed” by the companion she trusted most, she falls off a cliff and transmigrates. Given another chance at life, all she asks is to be true to her country and to herself.

But someone tells her, “A Chu, if there’s a next life, I want us to be an ordinary married couple. I want us to grow old together, our hair turning white, and see our children grow up.”

No longer believing in love, Ye Chu chooses to keep her distance from men. “I want money and beauty, but I also want power and influence! I’d better focus on my career.”

Later, she kneels devoutly before the imperial court and prays: “May you live for ten thousand years, and may every year bring you spring. May all go well for you throughout this life, and may you cross these vast lands without meeting an old friend. From now on, you may enjoy the lonely realm, while I guard your borders for ten thousand miles.”