Why Has the Widower Gone Mad Again?

This story has been revised several times, including but not limited to adding or cutting plot points.

[Gentle, clever, sunshine-like deceased wife x touch-starved, high-needs, scheming great general]

Widower fiction / sweet and angsty / size difference / past and present lives / marriage before love / mutual healing / a little political intrigue

Jiang Xu was an ordinary office worker, until she was caught in a car accident.

When she opened her eyes again, she found she had transmigrated into the body of a spy in ancient times. Her predecessor had leaked military secrets and was now locked in prison, soon to be dealt with.

Even worse, the person who had captured her was a notorious traitor from history. He had joined the army as a youth and seen countless battles, but the history books said he was brutal, colluded with foreign enemies, murdered the heir to the throne, and committed every crime that would make his name stink for a thousand years.

How could anything good come of falling into the hands of someone like that? Jiang Xu refused to give up. She was determined to show them just how good a modern office worker could be at staying alive.

Jiang Xu had a silver tongue. She knew how to talk to people and ghosts in their own language, but for someone as inhuman as Chu Bingwen, all she could do was talk nonsense.

To save her life, Jiang Xu flirted with him in every possible way. She never expected that this great general, usually so dignified and self-restrained in public, would actually fall for it. Seeing that she was alone and helpless, adrift like duckweed, he specially allowed her to stay in the Chu residence.

She assumed he had become lustful and wanted to take her as his concubine.

It was only when he unconsciously called her by his deceased wife's name, and even took her to his wife's grave, that Jiang Xu suddenly understood. He had been kind to her only because her features were almost identical to those of his late wife.

Knowing that she could never survive for long by relying on a man's protection, especially when she was only a substitute, Jiang Xu secretly made her plans. With the money secured, she would wait for the right moment to slip away.

Dark clouds blotted out the sun, and the north wind rose. It was a perfect day to escape.

Unbeknownst to her, the man behind her had been watching for a long time. His sharply defined features were icy, and he asked with a dark expression, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Miss Jiang, did you know that my deceased wife also had the surname Jiang?"

*

Chu Bingwen's wife died young.

Their marriage had been arranged by a noble, and the young couple had been devoted to each other. One was a female official, the other a guard; one an orphan, the other a hostage. By every measure, they seemed perfectly matched.

Yet the two of them were caught up in a power struggle. His wife died a terrible death, and he was so overcome with grief that he was about to follow her, but an imperial edict ordering him to lead a campaign stopped him.

He failed to die, but was left with a sickness of the heart.

For five years, with nothing left to hold him back, he wanted only to join her once everything was over. He never expected to meet someone with the same features as her, whose every gesture and movement was just like those of his wife, who had died so young.

But she did not remember him, and was even secretly plotting to leave him. He suppressed his anger and went after her under cover of night.

Layer upon layer of curtains, the spring breeze drifting softly through.

"Have you... ever been married?" he asked. His voice was hoarse after their passionate entanglement. "Back in the time you came from, were you ever someone's wife?"

Jiang Xu froze for a moment. Their passion had not yet faded, and she had not understood what he meant. The man's broad arms blocked her view. Then he continued, "Have you been like this with someone else? Did he treat you... as well as I do?"

Two-sentence summary: I transmigrated, but it turns out I'm the traitor's unattainable first love.

After five years as a widower, his wife returns with amnesia and thinks he's treating her as a substitute.

P.S.

1. Fake substitute, true lovers!!! The heroine is not a substitute! Not a substitute! Not a substitute!

2. Both leads are pure in body and mind. One-on-one romance, happy ending, but with angst. A sweet-and-angsty story.

3. Not a story about an invincible heroine, and not a power fantasy. The leads have very ordinary protagonist auras, if any at all.

4. The hero is hopelessly in love. Also, given his characterization, there are quite a few kissing and... other scenes later on. If that bothers you, please read with caution.

5. The story includes medical, historical, and geographical details. Please don't scrutinize them too closely. This is mainly for entertainment, so just enjoy it. The names of ethnic groups in the story are based on history, but the setting is fictional. There is absolutely no ill intent. Please remember that all ethnic groups are one family.

6. The original title of this story was The Minister Beneath the Stele.

7. The bonus chapters are up. The first fills in a little plot hole, and the other two are just sweet treats. Subscribe as you like, my dears~

[Soft on the outside, ruthless inside, ambitious schemer x suspicious, sinister emperor risen from humble origins]

Forbidden love / forced possession / obsessive love / a scoundrel's sincere heart / melodrama / star-crossed lovers

When the new emperor ascended the throne, the first thing he did was settle old scores.

Xue Caisheng never expected those scores to involve her. Back then, she had spent a reckless night with her family's servant, Meng Que. To secure her position as the second young madam of the Yin family, she turned around and blamed Meng Que, claiming he had seduced her first.

Beneath the blows of the cudgel, the frail boy's eyes were full of icy hatred.

When they met again, the lowly servant of old had risen overnight to become a royal-blooded heir who had been lost among the common people. His first order of business was to settle accounts with those who had wronged him.

The Yin family was condemned, and every member was sentenced to death.

Xue Caisheng narrowly escaped the same fate, but watched from the execution ground as her husband's family lost their heads, blood splashing across the platform.

Before her tears could fall, a pair of long, slender hands covered her eyes. The young emperor leaned close, his voice low as he chuckled softly in her ear. "A Cai, marry me, and I will be yours. If you won't, then I'll haunt you as a ghost."

Xue Caisheng knew that staying by his side could only end badly. She hurriedly gathered her money and secretly exchanged messages with someone, preparing to escape during a palace rite.

The sky stretched clear, the bright moon hung high, and the fog parted to reveal the light. Xue Caisheng descended the mountain, thinking she had finally escaped, when suddenly she felt a chill at her throat.

The silver blade flashed, making her close her eyes instinctively. Zhang Que spoke leisurely: "Xue Caisheng, the royal ritual isn't over yet. What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're trying to run away."

Incense drifted through the air, masking the lingering scent of passion. The offering table and lamplight swayed, while the Bodhisattva with lowered eyes remained as steady as a mountain.

Before the Buddha, one must not kill, but one may offer a sacrifice.

Ashes fell softly. In the throes of passion, she saw a small patch of crimson beneath his collar, so familiar...

"Don't you miss me?"

"Weren't you so wanton when you were with me back then?"

*

Zhang Que had not come by his throne easily. In his early years, he had wandered among the common people, not even knowing his own surname.

The servant had risen overnight to become a member of the royal family, then turned around and condemned the Yin family, sparing only Xue Caisheng.

He thought she ought to be grateful, but she had secretly allied herself with someone else and was willing to risk being accused of a crime just to escape his grasp.

Unhappy, he took his sword and blocked her path at the foot of the mountain. But the instant he saw her, his heart softened. If only she would bow her head, he could let the past go.

But there was one condition: she had to stay by his side, be his wife, be his prisoner, and be the woman who had once been entangled with him day after day.

Story theme: Respect history and hold life in awe.