Too Old to Marry? I’m Empress of All, So Don’t Be Jealous

[Political intrigue + revenge and putting scoundrels in their place + one-on-one, both leads devoted only to each other] After her father’s death, Lu Qingyan followed her mother into a second marriage with the Marquis of Xuanning’s household. Every noble young lady there had a good match, while she was the one left on the shelf. Just as everyone thought she would be an old maid, Prince Linjiang petitioned the throne for her hand. Prince Linjiang, Xiao Shen, was peerlessly handsome and refined, as graceful as a man beyond the mortal world. His writings were renowned throughout the realm, and his achievements rivaled those of Marquis Huo. He was the ideal man countless women in the capital dreamed of marrying, yet he had apparently gone blind and chosen Lu Qingyan, a woman with no dowry, no family background, and no reputation: a “three-nothing” bride. After their wedding, they treated each other with icy courtesy and only spoke at night. Lu Qingyan knew he still cherished the “woman in his heart,” who had once done him a favor. It made no difference to her; she had no intention of playing the devoted wife, either. … In Xiao Shen’s eyes, the wife he had married to repay a debt of gratitude was gentle, beautiful, and perfectly suited to family life. She was someone he could grow old with hand in hand. When she fussed over him and cared for him so attentively, he assumed she must be fond of him, too. Until one day, he accidentally overheard her words and realized there was another “moonlight in her heart.” Xiao Shen had two obsessions in this life: avenging the wrongs of his previous life and repaying the kindness he had received across both lives. Now he had a third: He would hunt down that “moonlight in her heart” and cut him down with his sword! Lu Qingyan: “All he told me was that his courtesy name was Jinzhi and his literary name was Zhaoyuan.” Xiao Shen’s courtesy name was Jinzhi, and his literary name was Zhaoyuan. Later, Xiao Shen ascended the throne and ruled the realm. Someone asked every day, “Did Your Majesty kill himself today?”