[Younger man with an older-man vibe + married first, love later + sweet romance + bittersweet tension + a touch of possessiveness + devoted couple]
[Cool, spirited young physician * gentle yet fierce regent]
In their fourth year of marriage,
Chu Xun stood at the Chu family gate and saw her husband, who spent most of his time in the palace and shared his feelings with her only in bed.
His gaze was cold and sharp. His luxurious purple robe, woven with gold-threaded cloud patterns, reflected a warm glow in the evening light, faintly tinged with red. He was like a flower blooming high on an inaccessible peak.
Beside him, she was like a fallen blossom in the mud at his feet, barely noticeable.
The Valley of the Medicine King had a forbidden flower that symbolized love.
When Chu Xun was little, she secretly hid one of its seeds beneath a stone slab along a secluded path by an ancient tree.
One night,
Yin Qiu slipped out of his robe, leaned over her and pinned her down, pressing his lips to hers while holding the back of her neck. He left her no room to breathe.
Unable to bear it, she kicked at him.
“What are you fussing about?”
He caught her ankle with precision. His bright eyes held a suppressed flame, yet he gently stroked her cheek as he spoke in a detached tone:
“Why didn’t you give me the seed? Were you planning to choose him...?”
“Don’t cry.”
Chu Xun had always thought Yin Qiu had a beloved woman, a moon he’d yearned for since his youth but never attained.
He had married her only to conceal the secret of a token of love.
If that was the case, then she wanted her freedom!
Until a prince from a foreign capital mocked him for yielding his position.
At a banquet,
she quietly wiped away her tears.
Dark with anger, he kicked over the envoy and cleaved the imperial decree ordering her marriage to a foreign land with his sword. Then he pointed it at the emperor, who had only just taken personal control of the government.
“Even if we divorce, she’s still mine. Anyone who dares make her do something she doesn’t want will have to get past me first.”
A few things to know before reading:
1. Both leads are each other’s first and only partners. Set in an imaginary ancient world.
2. Sweet romance comes first, with court intrigue as a supporting element.
3. The heroine lies flat at first, but grows over time.
