Four Corners, Envy All Around

[A war-torn era's ambitious entrepreneur vs. a gentle, resilient beauty]

"Emperor Xie Yi rose from humble beginnings. He met Empress Ming when they were young, and they married in the midst of hardship. Empress Ming made her name as a physician, a leader among healers who saved the people from suffering. The emperor and empress remained devoted to each other, weathering danger and growing closer through adversity, until they established an empire. He had no concubines throughout his life, only the empress at his side, and never another woman."

A few deft strokes in the history books capture the whole lives of Xie Yi and Ming Yao.

It all began amid a tumultuous age of chaos and war. Ming Yao traveled far and wide as a physician, crossing mountains and rivers and going among the people caught up in the fighting. Saving Xie Yi should have been an ordinary event on an ordinary day.

Xie Yi was exceptionally clever, meticulous, and cool-headed. After years of hardship while building his cause, he sensed Ming Yao in the moment he stood at death's door.

He kept Ming Yao by his side. Even if she could never return his feelings, he wanted to see her every day.

She would be his, and everything he possessed in the world would be hers, too.

Whether it was his own unrequited wish or a case of forcing her hand, he didn't care.

[Reader's Guide]

1. An ambitious entrepreneur in a war-torn era vs. a gentle, resilient beauty.

2. One-on-one romance, both virgins. Alternate-history setting, so please don't nitpick historical details. The plot serves the romance, thank you~

3. Be aware: a possessive romance from the male lead's perspective vs. a tragic separation from the second male lead's perspective.

4. Writing for fun, a light read. Please be kind to each other in the comments, and support the official version on Jinjiang Literature City~

Coming soon: Spring at the Jade Terrace

Childhood sweethearts | [A principled, restrained strategist vs. a bright, quick-witted sweetheart]

After the late emperor passed away, the crown prince ascended the throne.

Yu Yuetao and Liu Lin had grown up together to the sound of Chang'an's bells at dawn and dusk. They had imagined how many great houses and noble families might rise and fall during the transition from the old regime to the new. But they never imagined this was only the beginning of the countless hardships awaiting them.

In the second year of the new emperor's reign, the Liu family was convicted and sentenced to execution. Standing above the steps of the imperial court, the new emperor looked down at Yu Yuetao as she knelt outside the Hall of Eternal Life, pleading for Liu Lin. His tone was so gentle it was almost false. "Cousin, why put yourself through this?"

She broke off a branch and knelt there, waiting until at last an order arrived: Liu Lin's death sentence was commuted, and he was exiled three thousand li to Lingnan.

Outside Chang'an, by the Blue Bridge Post Station, Liu Lin had three wishes as he departed: first, that A Tao would live in peace in Chang'an all her life; second, that they would meet again in this lifetime; third, that his family would one day be cleared of all charges.

As they clasped hands, Yu Yuetao said over and over, with unwavering resolve, A Lin, I'll save you.

Liu Lin brushed the tears from the corner of her eye.

He looked back at the Chang'an of their past. When the spring winds rose again, they would overturn the world and build a new age of peace.

Theme: Those who save others also seek to save themselves