I Picked Up the Future Top Scholar

Lu Yuqing was a refined gentleman, warm and courteous, and exceptionally handsome.

He rose through the ranks after placing first in the imperial examinations, yet had neither wife nor concubine. In Chang'an, he was the most unattainable flower past its prime.

Everyone guessed that he had someone in his heart.

Later, after hearing about his hardships as a boy and seeing the same bamboo-leaf jade hairpin atop his head, unchanged for years, everyone understood.

The person in his heart was Chen Yuzhu, once the eldest daughter of the Minister of Rites, now the wife of the heir to the Marquis of Yongan.

He had fallen for her when they were young, but their difference in status stood in the way, and the woman he loved married another man.

What a tragic love story! For a time, all of the capital sighed over the ill-fated pair of lovers.

But they didn't know that although he did have someone in his heart, it was someone else entirely.

Chen Rong was the least favored second daughter of the Minister's household.

So the first time she met Lu Yuqing, who was a government slave, she was unable to save him.

When they met again, he was a servant in her household.

She had seen him grow close to her elder sister, and he had witnessed her helplessly being pushed around at every turn.

They barely knew each other and exchanged few words. Even later, when he was forced to hide at her side, they were hardly familiar.

She didn't believe in taking away another person's freedom. When the Lu family was cleared of its charges, she told him, "The worst is over. From now on, things will only get better."

Then she let him go without hesitation.

They did not meet again for years. She married into a general's household, changing from a young lady of the neglected estate to an equally unwelcome young madam.

Her former acquaintance, meanwhile, had become the new top scholar, with matchmakers lining up at his door.

Chen Rong knew they were worlds apart, but she never expected that, as soon as she divorced, he would suddenly petition the emperor for permission to marry.

He was asking to marry her.

* A seemingly cold but warm-hearted second daughter x a devoted and handsome Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review

* The male lead is gentle, and so is the female lead. Two people who have suffered greatly but stayed gentle finally find love.

* The female lead has an ex-husband and will divorce him.

---- Forthcoming novel ----

Ye Wenshan transmigrated, and before she had even enjoyed a single peaceful day, she was handed a deadly task: sleep with the Sixth Prince.

The Empress said he had been traumatized and had become obsessed with the bedchamber arts.

Ye Wenshan stared in shock. What kind of disastrous start was this? When she met the Sixth Prince, she was even more stunned.

He was paralyzed! Did that mean she had to do all the work herself?

Ye Wenshan tried to bluff her way through it, but she was caught on the spot and severely punished.

To save her life, she had no choice but to force herself on him.

The two of them often fought on the bed over it.

He called her shameless, but whenever his affliction flared up, he would behave himself, gritting his teeth and trembling as he endured it, just like a young wife being bullied.

She stayed out of it and talked herself through it, often making him so angry that his eyes reddened as he ground out, "I'll kill you!"

Ye Wenshan was speechless. Wiping away his tears, she casually played along. "Sure, sure. Kill me, then."

He wanted to stand again, so she massaged his legs and helped him practice walking, doing everything she could, all for the sake of one promise:

"Once it's done, I'll let you leave the palace."

Later, his legs truly recovered, but he went back on his word.

Heartbroken, Ye Wenshan had had enough of being coerced and imprisoned. She faked her death and escaped the palace.

Life outside the palace was peaceful and calm, and she even met a gentle scholar.

But the good times did not last. In the end, he found her.

Pei Ling lifted the legs of the person on the bed and rested them on his lap. The black iron shackles clinked together with a clear ring.

"I told you to stay put, but you wouldn't listen." He stroked her ankle and carefully wrapped it in a handkerchief. "You might have rubbed your skin raw."

Ye Wenshan's skin prickled. She didn't want to open her eyes and merely said, "Didn't you say you were going to kill me?"

But he laughed, a hearty laugh, like a madman.

"Look, you remember what I said. I knew it. In this world, only you would treat me so well."

* A kindhearted, unlucky, optimistic heroine x a seemingly innocent, dark-hearted hero who is quick to break down

* The scholar is the second male lead, not a plot device.

* The hero's obsession is the result of poison. All male characters are sexually inexperienced.

* A melodramatic story, orz

He was lost in the memories of their past together, while she thought it had all been a forced fling.

Theme: Deep love can outlast the years