Synopsis
Farm Girl Weaver x Down-and-Out Emperor
It was summer, and the river was swollen. I was washing clothes by the river when I rescued a man. He said he would repay me and promised me wealth and glory.
I took him in, feeling sorry for his lonely plight.
Only later did I find out he was the emperor himself.
As it turned out, taking me as his wife was how he repaid my kindness with betrayal.
In my third year as empress, the floods came raging. I asked the emperor to return to my hometown to provide disaster relief. The great dam burst, and the floodwaters swept everything away. I leapt from the embankment, severing all ties with you.
Male lead's perspective:
Xie Zihe never imagined that he, the great emperor, would one day sit on the kang in a broken-down hut, learning to sew one stitch at a time from Xu Junniang: sewing women's undergarments and baby swaddles.
If he accidentally snapped the thread, Xu Junniang would punch him in the chest, and the pain would leave him afraid to breathe for a long while.
She had saved his life, and after he ascended the throne, he honored his promise and gave her wealth and glory, making Xu Junniang empress. He had carefully considered the matter. An empress's family should not be too powerful, lest her relatives interfere in government. Xu Junniang had neither parents nor siblings, and her brothers were all rising stars in court. She couldn't have been more suitable.
But for all his careful calculations, he never accounted for her being a woman with a cold heart. And for all his wondering, he never imagined he would fall in love with her.
Note:
The main story is told in the female lead's first-person perspective. The female lead fakes her death, and the male lead has to win her back. HE.
Neither lead is perfect.
Check out my upcoming book: Is Pretending to Be My Husband Fun?
Blurb:
Crown Prince Jiang Ya discovers that the disgraced official Meng Run has secretly kept a mistress.
He personally leads a team to search the residence. As soon as he steps through the second gate, the curtain in the main house lifts, and a graceful woman emerges.
Her glossy black hair is styled in a relaxed bun, her waist is slender, and a red beauty mark adorns her lips. Her arched brows seem to hide sorrow, while her limpid eyes are vacant.
This is Meng Run's mistress. She's beautiful, but blind. She steadies herself against the door and says tremulously, "Husband?"
Jiang Ya tests whether she's faking it and signals for his men to step back.
Hearing the commotion but getting no reply, the woman anxiously feels her way forward. She doesn't notice the tall threshold, stumbles, and falls onto the blue-brick floor.
Her lotus-colored skirt spreads around her like a water lily, and her hairpins and jewelry jingle. After struggling for a long while, she still can't get up. Her slender fingers grope aimlessly through the air, and two streams of tears run down her cheeks. Wiping them away, she says, "Husband, now that you're here, why won't you say anything?"
Seeing her sprawled helplessly on the ground, Jiang Ya feels a pang of pity. He steps forward and reaches out as if to help her, but keeps his voice cold. "I'm not your husband."
But the woman takes the opportunity to grab his jade belt and lean her fragrant cheek against him. "Husband, are you still angry with me? That night, I didn't refuse you on purpose. I was just... afraid of the pain of childbirth, nothing more..."
Her breath is sweet as orchids, brushing against the crown prince's neck.
Jiang Ya has never heard such tender words spoken in private before. He keeps his expression composed, but the backs of his ears turn red as if flushed with sunset.
He tries to explain again. "I'm not, "
Two warm, soft lips suddenly silence him. Their tongues meet in secret, leaving the crown prince of the Eastern Palace stunned on the spot.
As he changes after their tryst, Jiang Ya quietly asks his trusted guard, "Does my voice really sound like Meng Run's?"
The guard bows. "There is indeed a seven- or eight-tenths resemblance. But Meng Run's voice isn't as clear as Your Highness's. The difference is obvious if you listen closely."
Jiang Ya rubs the newly acquired scented pellet and smiles after a long pause. "She can't see, and she only meets Meng Run once every few months. Mistaking me for him is only natural. We haven't gathered all of Meng Run's evidence yet, so I'll play the loving couple with her for a few days..."
Then he catches sight of the rouge still on his lips in the mirror and, almost without thinking, licks it. It tastes sweet, with a clean floral fragrance from a woman's balm.
Later, after Meng Run is arrested, Jiang Ya plans to give his mistress a title and bring her into the Eastern Palace. But before he can confess the truth, she has vanished, leaving only a note: Is pretending to be my husband fun?
P.S.:
A possessive pursuit, she runs and he chases, and he has to win her back.
The blurb is from the male lead's perspective. The female lead guesses his identity as soon as they meet and plays along.
Theme: The poorer you are, the stronger you must be.
