A Bone That Soars to the Clouds

My new novel, "After the White Moonlight Faked Her Death," has started updating~

The synopsis is at the end. If you're interested, please bookmark it~

Synopsis:

* Sickly, clever daughter of the Chancellor x proud top scholar from a humble family

Heroine: An absolute force at the top, a wonderful guiding lover

Hero: A loyal, growing puppy who goes wherever she points

Mu Qingyun has been bedridden with illness since childhood, constantly taking medicine. While recuperating at a country estate outside the city, the only thing that keeps her company through countless sleepless nights of coughing and wheezing is the clear sound of someone reading aloud beyond the wall.

That year, spring was still bitterly cold. Wearing a veiled hat, she quietly left the estate and saw a scholar sitting on the ground. His blue robe was washed pale, but it could not conceal his handsome features.

"Young master, you have such talent. Why don't you go to the capital and sit for the imperial examinations?"

"I'm short on money, and my elderly mother needs someone to look after her." He smiled bitterly, speaking frankly.

Unable to bear seeing a fine talent go to waste, Mu Qingyun secretly left him a gold ingot, then turned and disappeared into the dusk.

After ten years of hard study, Qin Yan finally passed the imperial examinations and became the top scholar. Unfortunately, his youthful pride eventually got him into trouble.

After a powerful official publicly rebukes him, his colleagues avoid him like the plague. Standing alone outside the palace gates, Qin Yan feels the capital's winter for the first time.

In the Chancellor's study, Mu Qingyun listens to her father's words between coughs.

"Qin Yan may well be ruined by the Grand Tutor," Chancellor Mu sighs. "What a shame. He's a promising young man."

She lifts her eyes to the last leaf clinging to a bare branch outside the window.

"Father, save him."

Chancellor Mu is startled. "How?"

"Ask the emperor to let him marry into our family," Mu Qingyun says softly but firmly. "This body of mine won't last much longer. If I'm going to die, I might as well do something good before I go."

The top scholar marries into the Chancellor's family to bring good fortune to his sick bride, becoming the talk of the court and the capital.

On their wedding night, red candles burn brightly.

Qin Yan prepares himself to refuse to go along, even if it costs him his life, but instead she brings over a quilt and sets it in front of him. "We are only husband and wife in name. Once the trouble has passed, you can leave whenever you like."

Qin Yan can't help asking, "Why are you helping me, Miss?"

"Your writing shows that you have the talent to serve the world. Every character reveals your integrity. I couldn't bear to see a fine talent go to waste."

She coughs softly. "Besides, I don't have long to live. It would be nice to do something good before I die."

Qin Yan's throat tightens. The words of thanks stick in his throat, and he can't say them.

Later, Qin Yan happens to hear Mu Qingyun humming a familiar tune, and suddenly realizes:

The person who generously helped him and saved him from hardship all those years ago was her.

And the person now shielding him from storms and danger in court is her too.

That night, Mu Qingyun's old illness suddenly flares up. She coughs until her whole body trembles, her breath so faint it seems about to stop.

She closes her eyes and smiles faintly. "Don't worry about me, young master... My life has always been borrowed time."

"But I don't want it to be borrowed."

Qin Yan abruptly cuts her off, speaking with resolve. "I will fight for you, extend your life, and demand a happy ending for you from the heavens."

* Younger man, both leads are each other's only partners, happy ending

* Not a female-power fantasy. More serious in tone, with light political intrigue and a focus on the romance

* The illness content is very intense. Please don't read if that's not for you

* An entirely fictional court with a blend of institutions. All worldbuilding serves the story, so please don't overanalyze it

Upcoming Story:

For the seventeen years she has lived as the eldest daughter of the Chancellor's family, Li Daiyao has been obedient and well-behaved, following her lessons and never stepping out of line.

Until she meets Pei Hong.

It turns out there really is someone like him in this world: cold and hard as an iceberg, taciturn and distant, yet somehow impossible for her to look away from.

Li Daiyao falls hopelessly in love. At first, Pei Hong barely pays her any attention and is often harsh with her.

But with time, even an iceberg melts beneath the sun.

After all, who could help loving Li Daiyao?

Li Daiyao gets her wish and marries him. They have an adorable child, and live a peaceful, happy life.

But then the tides of fortune turn. The Chancellor's family is wiped out, and everything beautiful crumbles like a bubble.

Li Daiyao regrets it.

She should have listened to her older brother and stayed away from Pei Hong. She should never have fallen in love with him like a moth flying into a flame.

Pei Hong keeps reminding himself that he must not fall in love with Li Daiyao.

They may have shared a bed and lived in harmony all these years, but it was all a pretense. He doesn't love her at all.

But why...

After Li Daiyao disappears, his heart dies with her.

He frantically searches every corner of the capital and every place she might have gone, but his A Yao will never come back.

Pei Hong believes he has lived his life without shame before heaven or earth, but he has wronged the one girl whose heart and eyes held only him.

He regrets it.

He loves Li Daiyao far more deeply than he ever imagined.

But his mistake was approaching the Chancellor's family with an ulterior motive from the very beginning.

A seed of wrongdoing can only bloom into a withered flower.

Now he wants nothing. He's willing to give up even his life.

He only hopes A Yao will return safe and sound.

Theme: May those who walk through the dark find someone waiting with a lamp.