Chapters 36-161 are the revised version. [Fake Fallen Princess x Real Reclusive Assassin]
Chaohua is the Princess of Yunsang, while Chaorong is a heroine from Liao.
After Yunsang falls, Chaohua is taken to Yan as a slave, and is about to pass through the border between Yan and Liao.
Having learned of her origins, Chaorong is eager to see the older sister she was separated from as a baby.
Moved by their shared blood, she vows to save Chaohua from a life of misery after they reunite, despite everyone's warnings.
But Chaohua dies protecting her. Overwhelmed by grief and regret, Chaorong resolves to go north in her place, willingly entering Yan as a slave to fulfill her sister's last wish and protect the people left behind in their fallen homeland.
From then on, Lu Chaorong ceases to exist. There is only Yun Chaohua, the fallen princess.
**
Yin Yuchen is a martial arts fanatic who knows nothing of the world. He is naive and stubborn, unable to tell right from wrong.
If he had never met Chaorong, he would have been nothing more than a blade in his mother's hand.
One glimpse across the Chensha River, and the flash of a blade sparked a bond neither could escape.
He disregards the tangled grudges of the previous generation and is willing to give up everything to follow her, not knowing that love is harder to bear than death.
Even when their love is mutual and they secretly pledge themselves to each other, a vast distance still lies between them whenever he looks at her.
He dies on the day she is married. It is the best fate he could have hoped for.
In a foreign land, Chaorong meets a scheming maid whose loyalties are unclear, the mysterious Prince of Northern Yan, a respected elderly scholar, a mysterious young assassin...
Some become her enemies, some her benefactors, some her friends and family, and some the loves she will remember to her dying day.
She fights her way through adversity and presses on through the darkness, thinking she is merely a bystander who can leave at any time.
Only later does she realize this is a road with no return, and she is the one carrying the lantern. She has no companions, only followers...
Content notes:
1. A fictional setting with three kingdoms: Yunsang, Northern Yan, and Western Liao. No rebirth or transmigration. Not a wish-fulfillment novel. A slow-burn historical drama.
2. The main story follows the heroine's personal and professional growth. Romance is not a major focus and is full of twists and melodrama. One-on-one pairing, both leads have no prior partners, happy ending.
3. This is the author's first novel. It was inspired by the stories of two sisters, the red rose and the white rose, whose lives take a wrong turn. It began serialization in 2016 and ran for over half a year before being paused just before the finale. Eight years later, it is finally complete. It has plenty of flaws, so please bear with me.
---- Next up: historical romance, Springtime in the Capital
Blurb: #A heroine who's seen it all, and a hero whose time stands still.#
After Prince Xian Ning fails to claim the throne, his descendants are exiled to the frontier for many years. Whenever upheaval strikes the capital, his entire family lives in fear.
As she watches her older siblings fall one after another to the emperor's agents, Li Yanran risks her life to escape her fief, taking the iron-willed guard Helan Yao with her on a road with no return.
When she becomes an outlaw beyond the passes, countless souls fall to her blade, most of them suspicious visitors from Luoyang, including the man she once loved with all her heart.
Across vast mountains and endless seas of sand, Helan Yao follows her through life and death, as steadfast and devoted as an eagle in flight. They swear to Heaven that they will never betray each other.
Just as she decides to spend the rest of her life guarding the frontier and protecting her parents and family from afar, the emperor dies. The empress and princess are locked in a standoff, and to stabilize the court, the ministers decide to bring Yanran's elderly father back to the capital to take the throne.
☆☆☆
Luoyang is prosperous and magnificent, but also full of intrigue and danger.
At a palace banquet, Yanran meets a young gentleman as bright as the moon and as graceful as a spring willow, the very image of the sweetheart she accidentally killed in her youth.
His name is Yu Che. He is the chancellor's only son, elegant and refined, and renowned throughout the capital. He has only ever associated with talented scholars and men of noble character.
Li Yanran, who has spent years among bandits, fighting beasts and brawling with thugs, is steeped in banditry and brimming with bloodlust. She is exactly the sort of person he disdains.
Yu Che has never paid Yanran any mind, and Luoyang's nobles have never taken her family seriously. That is, not until the new ruler is firmly established on the throne, the late emperor's wife and daughter are utterly defeated, and the chancellor who invited a wolf into the house is sentenced to beheading and public display for treason...
The immortal-like nobleman falls from grace, begs for help everywhere, and finds every door shut. At last, he falls at Yanran's feet.
"Become my consort, and I'll leave him with his whole corpse." Her red lips part, her voice coy.
Yu Che raises his head in confusion and sees a heartbroken face emerging from the shadows behind her.
That is her right-hand man, Helan Yao, a man who kills without blinking. Finding a way to remove him would be a good deed in itself.
☆☆☆
This marriage is a compromise between the new dynasty and the old ministers, and both sides know it.
In the embroidered bedchamber, candlelight glows red. Her gaze is clouded with sorrow, clearly seeing someone else when she looks at him.
They are both too young to understand that a charade can turn into real love with time.
There is no father-daughter bond in the imperial house. As Yanran's power grows, she draws her father's suspicion.
This is the perfect opportunity to join forces with others and eliminate her. It is also the reason he has endured humiliation and offered himself as bait, but his heart begins to waver.
Just as he feels trapped in the depths of hell, his younger brother Yu Yuan, missing for many years and uncannily similar in looks, returns. Only then does he realize he is nothing at all.
Consumed by hatred and resentment, and goaded by his younger brother, he hardens his heart and lays a deadly trap for her.
He plans for every contingency, but never expects Yu Yuan, a son of the Yu family too, to switch sides at the last moment and turn on him.
In despair, all he wants is to die. She snatches the poisoned dagger from his hand and plunges it into Yu Yuan's chest as he savors his triumph. Then she turns to him and says, "Your hand is better suited to holding a brush and turning the pages of a book."
Last night, the moon was clear and the breeze gentle. When she returned, she carried another person's scent. Half serious and half jealous, he petulantly asked whether Helan Yao or Yu Yuan mattered more to her.
Drunk, she collapsed against his chest and murmured, "With them, I'm only playing a part..."
---- To be continued
/A gender-swapped version of coercive romance, loving and fighting, a substitute becoming the true beloved, melodramatic rivalry for the heroine, and more/
*Fake political intrigue, real melodrama.
*Two male leads: a possessive, unhinged first love who loves and fights her, and a graceful consort who treats her with respect.
*One-on-one pairing throughout, including the ending. The romance comes in phases, but the career is forever.
Theme: Never abandon anyone, never give up.
This monologue made me burst into laughter. The heroine has inherited the clear-headedness, calmness and rationality of Da Bi. She will never be obsessed with love and her mind will be confused. Those who love her can only suffer a little aggrievement, otherwise they will never be able to catch up.
The gray line of the grass snake lies thousands of miles away, it is really amazing!
I don't want to struggle anymore, I just want to shout loudly: The three of you living a good life together is more important than anything else??
The moon on the sea is the moon in the sky, and the person in front of you is your sweetheart.
Things are fickle, he finally became what she wanted, but was this really what she wanted?
Look what I found, can you chase it? Is this quietly updating or revising old articles?
Yan'er is the son of his sister and brother-in-law.
This Mr. He is already crawling into bed~~~, changing the rhythm of the male protagonist
Male protagonist, where are you? Your princess will be deceived by Mr. He!
Qiuniang is sure that Ah Rong has a kind heart. There are risks in cheating, so you need to be careful when following her example. If He Junshu was a ruthless character, she would have died long ago!
This monologue made me burst into laughter. The heroine has inherited the clear-headedness, calmness and rationality of Da Bi. She will never be obsessed with love and her mind will be confused. Those who love her can only suffer a little aggrievement, otherwise they will never be able to catch up.
The gray line of the grass snake lies thousands of miles away, it is really amazing!
I don't want to struggle anymore, I just want to shout loudly: The three of you living a good life together is more important than anything else??
The moon on the sea is the moon in the sky, and the person in front of you is your sweetheart.
Things are fickle, he finally became what she wanted, but was this really what she wanted?
Look what I found, can you chase it? Is this quietly updating or revising old articles?
Yan'er is the son of his sister and brother-in-law.
This Mr. He is already crawling into bed~~~, changing the rhythm of the male protagonist
Male protagonist, where are you? Your princess will be deceived by Mr. He!
Qiuniang is sure that Ah Rong has a kind heart. There are risks in cheating, so you need to be careful when following her example. If He Junshu was a ruthless character, she would have died long ago!