Synopsis
[The main story is complete. The blurb for my upcoming novel, Little Chong Mountain, is at the very bottom. If it sounds interesting, I hope you'll add it to your favorites!]
After disaster struck, Lu Mianlan had been imprisoned for only five days when Yang Huizhi, the powerful Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, personally rescued her.
Everyone knew that Assistant Minister Yang had made a name for himself at a young age. Gentle and refined as jade, he had placed first in the imperial examinations at sixteen and risen through the ranks to fourth grade in just five years. He was the envy of all the capital, a heaven-blessed prodigy. Lu Mianlan, by contrast, was an orphan dependent on others. Implicated by her family, she had become a criminal and was on the brink of being exiled to the frontier.
Though they had not seen each other for many years, at least they would be able to see each other often from now on. The condition for Lu Mianlan to escape exile was to marry Yang Huizhi and live with him as a devoted couple.
Lu Mianlan did not believe that anyone offered protection for no reason, even if that person was her childhood sweetheart.
"Why did you save me?" she asked.
"My mother died of poisoning back then," he replied calmly. "After investigating, I found that the poison she took and the one your father took came from the same source."
Everyone said that Assistant Minister Yang was a man of noble character and integrity, yet had been forced by family circumstances to marry a disgraced criminal's daughter against his will. Even Lu Mianlan believed their marriage was no more than a temporary expedient.
Rumors were rife. Everyone said Assistant Minister Yang was deeply unhappy with the marriage, and that an unhappy marriage was inevitable.
Until one day, someone pointed at Lu Mianlan in the street and accused her of dragging Yang Huizhi's good name through the mud with her criminal past. She was about to snap back when Yang Huizhi suddenly drew her into his arms. As she looked up in bewilderment, she heard him sigh softly to the other person:
"Poor thing, my wife is so frail she can't even take care of herself..."
Lu Mianlan: "...?"
On the day the case was settled, she calmly proposed a divorce. "Lord Yang, from now on, we're even."
Yang Huizhi only laughed in anger. That night, he trapped her beneath the brocade quilt, his voice hoarse:
"What do you take me for, madam? A chess piece you can casually cast aside once you've used me?"
Worn down by him until her eyes turned red, Lu Mianlan could not help turning her face away beneath him, letting out a muffled sob. "You're the one who said first that our engagement was only a temporary expedient..."
Outside the window, the wind swept around the candle flame. Yang Huizhi's movements suddenly stopped.
He gazed down at her for a long time, then sighed with a tenderness as soft as a whisper. "So you really didn't know?"
Lu Mianlan froze for a moment, but he did not let her catch her breath. He bent down and kissed her collarbone with almost reverent devotion.
"I fell in love with you... at first sight."
A scheming, love-struck, theatrical minister who falls for his own schemes
VS
A gentle, clever, seemingly innocent but secretly calculating disgraced daughter in dire straits
[Blurb for the upcoming novel Little Chong Mountain]
While the original novel, The Brooding Regent's Beloved, was still being serialized, Chu Xiyue was assigned a transmigration mission.
The System vowed: "Just say yes, and I'll make you the male lead's white moonlight and cinnabar mole in the book. Your mission is to stay by his side as he grows up and help him become Regent!"
As a prospective preschool teacher studying early childhood education in the twenty-first century, Chu Xiyue decided to put her professional skills to good use and raise the male lead like a baby.
System: "Just follow the original story for your mission. The fake death, the chasing-your-wife arc..."
Chu Xiyue: "I've seen all these tropes before. Give me something harder."
As it turned out, Chu Xiyue transmigrated into the wrong character.
The moment she opened her eyes, she heard the shocking news that she had been jilted yet again and had become the laughingstock of the entire city.
What did they mean, she'd been jilted "again"? The heroine in the book didn't seem to have gone through anything like this!
After quietly asking around, Chu Xiyue discovered that she was a musician of low status, with no parents and no place in the original novel, not even as a minor character.
Not only had she failed to become the white moonlight and cinnabar mole, she was also of low status. That alone might have been bad enough, but the man she was engaged to was the heroine's number-one fan and devoted simp: Yan Qi, the deeply devoted second male lead who met a particularly tragic end.
Chu Xiyue sneered. "System, don't you have something to explain? Where did this second male lead get a wife?"
The System played dead. "The original mission remains unchanged. Host, do your best."
Chu Xiyue: "Is that even humanly possible? According to the original timeline, the male lead has already been Regent for three whole years! Three years! He probably has a kid by now!"
But then Chu Xiyue had an idea. Since the original heroine, Song Shengwan, was also a transmigrator, surely she would understand Chu Xiyue's morally compromised predicament, forced on her by circumstances.
She wasn't actually planning to steal Song Shengwan's husband, but at least she could talk to someone from the modern world. Maybe they could think of another way.
So after going through every hardship to reunite with Song Shengwan, Chu Xiyue discovered that even Song Shengwan, who had all the world's affection, had her own troubles.
For instance, the infamous ruthless Regent, Qiu Gui, had fattened her up by nearly twenty pounds.
Chu Xiyue: "...You know the System's mission for me is to steal your husband, right?"
Song Shengwan: "That's fine. If you're in a hurry, you can borrow him for a few days."
Chu Xiyue watched helplessly as Qiu Gui walked over, looking absolutely besotted with Song Shengwan...
Wasn't there a more realistic solution?
Gentle, scheming Crown Prince's Attendant VS conscientious, naturally spacey preschool teacher
[Secondary Couple]
Ruthless, brooding Regent VS seemingly aloof but truly antisocial white moonlight
Theme: The people are paramount, the state comes second, and the ruler comes last.
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Reader comments 37
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The best ancient Chinese suspense novel I have read recently!!! Through the case of the heroine's uncle and tea merchant being suspected of smuggling ironware, a tax case that was buried later was more serious and difficult to investigate. From the beginning of this case, the male and female protagonists were deeply passive, with every move under the control of the other party. However, they did not panic and continued to investigate at their own pace. But at the same time, this case was full of doubts. One witness was found dead, and in the end, a man committed suicide out of fear of guilt. But is that person really the real murderer behind the scenes? I don't think so, maybe they are just being pushed out as scapegoats. And this case is vaguely related to the epidemic many years ago, and I am somewhat curious about the plot behind it. The heroine's character is actually more three-dimensional than that of the male protagonist. She is independent and does not need to rely on anyone. I don't think someone like her would get married easily unless she was in a desperate situation. In her eyes, her marriage to the male protagonist is just a transaction, without much true love. She is like a tough tree, she does not need others to protect her from wind and rain, she is her biggest supporter. Although the heroine, who doesn't have much experience, is panicked when something happens, she is still able to quickly adjust her state and calm down. The male protagonist has really deep feelings for the female protagonist. When he heard that the heroine was in trouble, he rushed thousands of miles just to save her. As long as the heroine is there, his eyes will never be biased towards other people, he will only focus on the heroine. Once left behind by the heroine, he becomes aggrieved again. Although the heroine was just a partner to the hero at the beginning, she was moved by the warmth of the hero day after day. I think she had already been moved unknowingly and secretly raised the status of the hero again and again in her heart, so she immediately went to the hero to tell him the good news after going to the embroidery shop. I think the group portraits are the second highlight of this article besides the plot. Almost all the characters appearing in it have complete plot lines, and their former authors have very detailed descriptions. Whether it is the love between the emperor and the empress, or the tragic past of Lu's father and Yang's father meeting his bosom friend and Mo Zhu and Mo Yu, these are explained in relatively detail. People who love group portraits are really ecstatic, but there are often a few chapters of flashbacks, and I still want to see more of the male and female protagonists.
A true wise king and wise minister [bursts into tears] This feeling of youthful spirit and family and country feelings really makes people's eyes twitch - why is it tied! Teacher, hurry up, hurry up.
Two of the people here fell in love while we were talking about business. I won't say who they are.
I really like watching Mianlan and Master Yang when they were young. They both feel as cute as pink dumplings. It makes people's hearts melt.
Madam Diplomacy~The fate between the two families is getting deeper and deeper.
Mr. Yang, you change your attitude too quickly. Hahahahaha. You are as ruthless to everyone except Mianlan as the autumn wind sweeps away fallen leaves.
This group of people are all smart and not a single fool. How can you, a little fool like Mu Ge, fight with them?
Mianlan is so good, she almost treats her as a close relative. Being with such a master is a blessing that has been cultivated for three lifetimes.
It turned out that my baby was ordered here [Purple Sugar] kswl
You protected him once a few years ago, let him protect you more now [covering face and peeking]