The Chengzhen Era

A Frail Young Lady of a Military Family and a Spirited Young Prince

/ Love Grows Over Time / Young Newlyweds / The Female Lead Travels from Ancient Times to the Present / Past and Present Lives

Blurb:

In the eighteenth year of Chengzhen, Li Duanshu traveled from the far western frontier to the capital with a marriage contract in hand.

On her wedding night, she sat alone by the bed, quietly shedding tears. When her veil was lifted, a handsome young man appeared before her, framed by the room's brilliant red decorations.

The young man froze for a moment, then crouched in front of her and wiped away her tears. “Don't be afraid. Tonight, we'll only drink the nuptial wine. We won't share a bed.”

That night, he took his bedding and slept on the narrow couch in the study outside.

Li Duanshu stopped crying.

This man was her husband, Qi Jianyu, the third son of the current emperor and Prince Su.

Prince Su was not yet twenty, but had earned outstanding military honors, fighting ten enemies at once on the battlefield. Li Duanshu, daughter of the Duke of Dingguo, had been born with a weak constitution and had spent her life dependent on medicine. People said she had practically grown up in a medicine jar, like a sickly beauty reborn from the pages of a story.

Their marriage had been decreed by the emperor. They had no feelings for each other, and everyone expected Prince Su to take a concubine before long.

One day, Qi Jianyu heard this rumor and hurried back to the manor to explain.

Li Duanshu had no idea what he meant. “Mm.”

She rose onto her toes and carefully dabbed the sweat from his forehead with her handkerchief.

After hesitating for a long time, Qi Jianyu suddenly took her wrist. “Then... do you like me too?”

She didn't answer, so he kept shaking her arm and calling to her. “A Zhi, do you like me too?”

Li Duanshu blushed and nodded. Qi Jianyu's eyes curved into a smile, and he said happily, “I like you too.”

In less than half a year, the whole court knew that Prince Su and his princess were deeply devoted to each other and lived in perfect harmony.

In the nineteenth year of Chengzhen, barbarian tribes on the border repeatedly joined forces with remnants of the former dynasty to launch raids. To restore peace to the realm, the emperor ordered Prince Su, Qi Jianyu, to lead an army and quell the unrest. Victories were reported one after another over the following year.

Another year passed, and Prince Su successfully put down the rebellion. Yet just a few days later, an urgent report arrived: Prince Su had died suddenly of illness on his way back to the capital.

The news sent the court into an uproar.

Half a month later, the Princess of Su fell gravely ill at the manor. She remained in bed all day, growing weaker by the hour.

-

Li Duanshu had always loved reading, but she never imagined that one day the “fated plot” in a storybook would happen to her.

She had arrived in a completely unfamiliar world.

Qi Jianyu had never expected someone to burst into tears the moment she saw him, either. He had been about to grab his schoolbag and leave, but seeing how upset she was made his own heart ache terribly.

Perhaps that was why he couldn't help wanting to care for her.

But she was so strange, calling him her husband every so often.

The first time, Qi Jianyu's face turned bright red, and he sternly corrected her.

The second time, his face turned bright red again, and he corrected her.

The third time, he blushed and awkwardly avoided her gaze.

Then one day, he learned that she really did have someone she loved, and that he merely looked very much like that person.

Qi Jianyu fell silent.

That night, he knocked on her door and asked, his eyes glistening, “A Zhi, could you like me too?”

The ancient and modern settings in this story are entirely fictional.

*

Blurb finalized on August 6, 2026

Theme: Winter comes around again and again, and at last, those destined to meet find each other.