Stealing the Minister's Wife

A young emperor has three wishes. First, that his uncle, the regent, drop dead soon. Second, that peace and prosperity reign throughout the land. Third, that he marry the woman he loves and make her his empress.

To any clear-eyed observer, the third wish should be the easiest to fulfill.

But what if the woman he loves is already another man's wife, and what's more, the very woman he personally arranged a marriage for years ago?

*

Li Shuyun came from an unremarkable family. Her father had spent half his life drifting through the ranks, and had risen no higher than a sixth-rank assistant judge at the Court of Judicial Review. If not for a Daoist priest from Zhongnan Mountain predicting when she was young that she was born with the fate of a phoenix, destined for unimaginable nobility, she might never have had the chance to set foot in the palace.

The emperor died young, leaving behind a child crown prince and a helpless empress. To set her mind at ease and give her own child another advantage, the empress brought Li Shuyun into the palace to stay by her side.

Everyone said Li Shuyun was destined to be a phoenix, fated to one day become empress. But she was simple-hearted. The new emperor was handsome and treated her well, so she treated him well in turn. Her girlish feelings took root day by day, then grew wildly like vines before she knew it.

Yet the empress dowager never mentioned her promise from back then. Li Shuyun knew her own status was lowly and only hoped to remain by the emperor's side. But he would not even grant her that wish.

"I've chosen a match for you. He's a son of the Lanling Xiao clan, renowned for his talent and upright character. You won't be wronged by marrying him."

The decree arranging her marriage was delivered to Li Shuyun, but she refused to believe it. She asked to see him outside the imperial study, wanting to hear him say it himself. Instead, he sent a eunuch to deliver his message.

"With your status, this marriage is already a lofty match. How could you possibly deserve to stand by the emperor's side?"

Li Shuyun finally gave up hope. She donned her wedding gown and married the Xiao clan's son he'd chosen for her, leaving the heartache of Chang'an behind to travel with him to Yangzhou.

Three years into their marriage, she gradually let go of the past, opened her heart to her husband, and prepared to spend their lives together.

That same year, the once-arrogant regent fell from power. Her father-in-law was implicated and imprisoned, forcing her and her husband to return to Chang'an.

There, the emperor who had once spoken so coldly to her held out his hand.

"Shuyun, come back to my side, and I'll spare the Xiao family."

Female lead is not a virgin; male lead is. Inspired by the Tang dynasty, but the era and region are unspecified. As always, this is written to indulge the author's personal tastes, so please don't read too much into it.

Theme: Love means learning to respect the person you love.