Riding the Clouds, Treading the Mud

Five years ago, Gu Changming and Mu Yinzhu were fellow court officials and partners in crime. The two plotted to bring down the crown prince and helped the imperial consort's younger son ascend the throne. Just as their revolution was about to succeed, Gu Changming betrayed Mu Yinzhu without hesitation and sent her to prison. She spent five years in there. When she finally got out, Mu Yinzhu discovered that everything that had once belonged to her, her power and wealth, had vanished into thin air. Even her life was entirely in Gu Changming's hands. Then one day, the two were pulled into a storybook, swapped bodies, and sent traveling through different eras. Following a familiar formula isn't scary. Believing in it is. Main couple: Gu Changming (male) x Mu Yinzhu (female) Also known as "One Hundred Ways for Your Girlfriend to Cheat" and "Could You Have Some Standards in Love?" Coming soon: "Seeking Shu," a third-person historical romance. Please add it to your reading list! Mwah~ Jinchi City fell, and rebel forces swept through Qingzhou, reducing noble-born young women to dust. In her previous life, while fleeing, Yun Shu found Li Junji among a pile of corpses and gave him a bowl of hot tea and food. Back then, he wore a traveler's clothes and a cold fur coat, alone in a small boat on the river. "I, Li, will repay you for this kindness someday, Miss." The following winter, the wind and snow were as sharp as knives. Yun Shu went everywhere seeking help to save her father and brothers. Li Junji appeared at the Dingzhou lodge where she was staying and handed her a marriage contract. It wasn't as if he had no other choice. Li Junji's expression darkened. He raised his striking, refined brows, his tone utterly dismissive. "If you don't want to marry me, being my concubine would be more convenient." Yun Shu considered herself as good as dead. She signed the marriage contract, and the next day a sedan chair carried her into the Dingzhou Governor's residence. After marrying Li Junji, she became nothing more than a breathing corpse. When a beautiful mistress came to the door, she prayed before Buddha, reciting words of compassion and hoping the lovely young woman would soon bear her beloved Li a son. When one lovely woman after another came to the residence, begging her for a place to stay, she came back from the dead to plead with Li Junji on their behalf. He pinned her to the bed and repaid her each time. The last time Yun Shu risked her life to save Li Junji, she asked him for a divorce letter as she lay dying. Outsiders said they were deeply devoted to each other. They didn't know that the pair had become bitter enemies. She accompanied the lord for ten years, but could not bear to look back. Even in death, she didn't want to take the title he had forced upon her with her to the grave. - The nineteenth day, in the depths of winter. When Li Junji awoke, he could still feel the piercing pain in his heart. Then he looked toward the little boat moored on the riverbank. If he boarded it, could he see Yun Shu one more time? [The Sparrow Startled from the Branch x The Somber Lord] 1v1, a bitter couple from a past life. In this life, she runs and he pursues. Both are reborn, with a revenge-and-redemption arc. In her previous life, the heroine married before she was sixteen. Timid in her words and actions, she was a little crybaby who cried whenever trouble arose. The hero is ruthless and treacherous. After being reborn, he uses everyone and everything he can to pursue his ambitions, ultimately usurping the throne and becoming emperor. Theme: