The Years of Shanhe

Two capable leads raised together | Mutual misunderstanding | Tender pursuit of a wife | Both move toward each other | Love of country and family

[Bright and forthright daughter of a celebrated military family x gentle and restrained Crown Prince] Revised chapters this week, slower updates

Jin Hongzhao grew up on the frontier and had an exceptional gift for martial arts. But after earning merit at the age of five, she was sent back to the Duke of An's household and betrothed to the seven-year-old eldest prince, whose mother had died and who was being bullied.

Confined to the capital for twelve years, she was groomed to become a dignified and compassionate Crown Princess who cared for the common people. She was the beloved ideal of Shengjing's young aristocrats.

With the wedding approaching, she discovered that her radiant, gentle, and refined fiance had secretly kept a piece of evidence, written in his own hand, that implicated him in the destruction of her entire clan.

Her dream of a loving marriage shattered in an instant. Then she would break off the engagement.

With her cousin's help and her friend's support, she began to crack open this unshakable union. But the years of mutual respect and courtesy between them took a different turn.

She was cautious and patient, unable to openly fall out with him, while he clung to her relentlessly and refused to let go.

She gave him a chance to explain, but he stayed silent and avoided her.

Only after uncovering the past she had never known did his humble love and desperate devotion make her heart ache with tenderness and burn with warmth.

"A Lin, I never break my word. If I said I trusted you, then even if you say nothing, I will still trust you."

The Crown Prince knew that the woman he loved was the moon in the sky. If they hadn't been betrothed as children, he would have been no different from everyone else. He confided in her completely, yet never overstepped, hoping that after their wedding, they could share a quiet, lasting love, and that one day she might favor him. He never expected her to insist on breaking off their engagement.

His heart in turmoil, he cast aside years of restraint and did not retreat an inch as he coaxed her, clung to her, and pleaded with her, yet he couldn't answer her questions about the secret.

But her bright eyes and radiant spirit blazed like a wildfire, melting the chains around him.

"If Zhaozhao is willing to tempt me like this, then how could that not be a kindness to me?"

Together, they inherit the aspirations of their forebears and bring the strength of youth to forge a new dynasty of peace and prosperity.

"The Crown Princess will know just how much I want to honor our engagement."

*Reader's Guide:

1. Not a mindless wish-fulfillment story. Passion and melodrama go hand in hand. Light on political intrigue, heavy on character growth.

2. The leads are good people in the traditional sense, worthy of their positions. They respect each other and are sincere.

3. One-on-one pairing, both leads sexually inexperienced. He isn't a jerk who has to grovel for his wife. They have their reasons during the misunderstanding and don't separate.

4. The plot and romance are closely intertwined. The setting is fictional, so don't nitpick. Tangy and sweet at first, with a little angst for the male lead.

5. Primarily told from the heroine's perspective, with some family and friendship ensemble scenes. Angst first, then a sweet happy ending.

Additional plot notes:

The main focus isn't political intrigue or the battlefield. The story is about the next generation of young people coming into their own. All the tragedies lie in the background, spanning generations and forming the foundation of a flourishing dynasty.

Additional romance notes:

The jealousy the male lead holds back at first will come out later, in a meek but well-justified way. The wedding happens in the middle or later part of the story, but there's plenty of sweetness amid the angst before then.

My next story is currently being drafted and will start after this one is complete. Here's the blurb:

Marriage first, love later | Mutual salvation | Rebirth midway through | A little love-triangle tension | Love of country and family

[Kind and resilient young master of the Valley of Medicine King x wolfish and devoted pure-love war god]

Nie Qingxun comes from a renowned family of physicians in the northern desert's City of Heavenly Doctors. Chosen by a famous healer in her youth, she became a disciple of the mysterious Valley of Medicine King. She accompanies her senior brother out of the valley once a month to treat patients. At sixteen, she becomes the young master of the valley and gains fame throughout the land.

The land is torn apart by war, and her parents have been missing for many years. After completing her studies, she returns home, ready to marry her fiance from a noble family and take over the family business. But half a month before the wedding, her fiance's entire family is massacred.

Only she, her younger brother, who is weak from poison, and her cousin, who is away traveling, remain. The other great physician families in the City of Heavenly Doctors are eyeing her and the Nie family hungrily. She has no choice but to announce that her fiance has been rescued and is recovering, and that the wedding will go ahead as planned.

As the wedding approaches, she worries about where to find a dashing, confident groom who won't give the game away. Then two strikingly handsome brothers arrive at her clinic seeking treatment.

Taking advantage of the situation, she says, "Marry me, and I'll cure your little brother."

Ever since Jun Huaizheng could remember, his mother had taught him only two things:

Improve his martial arts and study the art of war.

When enemy forces slaughtered everyone in the imperial palace, he took his gravely ill younger brother to the Nie family's clinic, famed for medicine unmatched anywhere in the land, and was pressured into marriage by the young master of the Nie family.

After marrying her against his will, her gentle medicinal scent taught him a third thing.

On the third day of their marriage, Nie Qingxun's supposedly dead fiance arrives at the Nie residence, covered in wounds.

Theme: A virtuous person's private affections are rooted in respect, trust, and steadfast devotion.