Last Night, Red Candles Burned in the Bridal Chamber

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Blurb:

A Ji is a noblewoman of the imperial family, while Cui Chi is descended from a famed general. Though they have known each other since childhood, neither has ever felt anything for the other. Their most intimate moment comes on their wedding night, when their friends and family cheer them on as they drink from the nuptial cups.

But the wine goes to their heads, and somehow they end up married. After a night of passion, they wake to find they have switched bodies...

Cui Chi stares at the delicate young woman in the mirror and is so devastated he wants to kill himself with his own sword.

He and his father share one great ambition: to seize the Li dynasty’s throne once the empress dies. As the Cui family’s only son, how can he bear to have become a princess of the Li family?

A Ji, however, stays calm. Gazing at the handsome, cold-faced young man in the mirror, as graceful as a spring willow, she decides to wear Cui Chi’s face and slowly investigate his family’s secrets.

Her aunt managed to win over her accomplished and calculating uncle. As her aunt’s successor, winning the heart of the son of one of her uncle’s subordinates should be a beginner-level challenge. But she never expected that, unlike those old-fashioned elders, young people these days don’t play fair...

#A story about a straight man who switches sides at the last minute#

#A story about a seemingly carefree heroine who works hard to better herself#

Before switching bodies,

Cui Chi thought women held too much power in this dynasty.

A Ji was content with the status quo and wanted to live a life of leisure and luxury.

After switching bodies,

Cui Chi cried his eyes out and sincerely felt that women’s status urgently needed to improve.

A Ji finally understood the empress’s intentions and was willing to carry on her legacy.

++The clash between the chosen heir to the throne and a heaven-blessed, rebellious and ambitious young man (switch)!++

Bonus scene:

As the only princess in the dynasty, A Ji makes her way through life by playing up her innocent, lovely, and delicate appearance. But in Cui Chi’s eyes, she has always been a sly little fox with her tail held high: treacherous, cunning, hypocritical, frivolous, and shameless.

Later, the proud young man, finally won over by love, presses a hand to his swollen cheek and sidles up to her, asking eagerly, “It’s been so long. Have you missed me?”

A Ji glares at him and answers emphatically, “No!”

He knows she’s only saying it in anger, but for some reason his chest still aches. “But I missed you.”

Before she can reply, he puts on a shameless grin and says, “Then miss me now, just for a moment. Otherwise, I’ll be at a disadvantage.”

A Ji herself can’t figure out what she did to turn that arrogant, cold, cutting, hopelessly straight man into a devoted husband who would do anything for her.

Reading Guide:

[1] An alternate medieval setting with a blend of influences. Slow burn.

[2] One-on-one romance, both leads are inexperienced, happy ending, sweet romance, lighthearted everyday life.

[3] An immature, melodramatic, cliched love story. The political scheming is shallow, so please don’t scrutinize it too closely.

----Blurb for The One I Killed Is Back

When Yan Ran became an outlaw beyond the border, countless souls died beneath her blade, including the one she had once loved with all her heart.

Amid the endless mountains and vast seas of sand, the battle-hardened guard Helan Yao followed her through life and death without a single complaint. They swore to the heavens that they would never betray each other.

As she held Yanmen Pass, determined to protect her family and wait until she was strong enough to kill the emperor for revenge, the emperor died, leaving the throne vacant. To stabilize the court, the officials decided to bring back Yan Ran’s father, a distant relative of the imperial family.

The journey from the frontier to Luoyang was long, and assassins were never far behind. She had no choice but to leave her followers and escort him herself.

Luoyang was magnificent and prosperous, but also full of danger and intrigue.

At a palace banquet, she met a handsome, refined young man of extraordinary bearing who looked just like the love of her youth, the one she had mistakenly killed.

☆☆☆

Yu Che was the chancellor’s only son, peerlessly elegant and looking down on the world.

Li Yanran had spent years among outlaws, fighting wild beasts and battling ruthless criminals. Her bandit’s air and murderous temper made her someone he wanted nothing to do with. He had never taken Yanran seriously, and Luoyang’s aristocrats had never considered her family worth their notice.

Until the new ruler was firmly seated on the throne, the late emperor’s wife and daughters were utterly defeated, and the chancellor who had invited the wolf into the house was sentenced to be executed in public...

The immortal-like young nobleman fell into the dirt, unable to find help anywhere, and finally knelt at Yanran’s feet.

“Become my consort, and I’ll spare him an intact corpse,” she said in a suggestive voice.

Yu Che looked up in confusion. In the shadows behind her, a heartbroken face appeared.

That was her right-hand man, Helan Yao, a man who killed without blinking. If Yu Che could find a way to get rid of him, he would be doing the people a favor.

☆☆☆

This marriage was a compromise between the new dynasty and the old ministers, and they both knew it.

Under the embroidered quilts and gauze curtains, her gaze was troubled. It was obvious she was looking at someone else through him.

They were both too young to understand that, with time, a false performance could become real affection.

There were no fathers and daughters in the imperial family. As Yanran’s power grew, her father began to suspect her.

It was the perfect moment to join forces and eliminate her, and the ultimate goal of his plan to use himself as bait to lure the tiger. Yet, for some reason, his heart was in turmoil.

As he was consumed by torment, his younger brother Yu Yuan, missing for many years, returned. Only then did Yu Che realize that he was nothing more than a substitute.

Driven by his brother’s manipulation, hatred, and resentment, he cruelly laid a trap to kill her. He planned for every possibility, but never expected Yu Yuan, a fellow member of the Yu family, to switch sides at the last moment and turn on him.

In despair, he wanted to die. But she snatched away the poisoned dagger and plunged it into the chest of the triumphant Yu Yuan. Then she turned to him and said tenderly, “Your hand isn’t suited to holding a sword. It’s better suited to holding a brush and books.”

The night before, the moon had been bright and the air clear. When she returned, she carried someone else’s scent. Half-joking and half-jealous, he petulantly asked whether Helan Yao or Yu Yuan mattered more to her.

Drunk, she rested against his chest and murmured, “I’m only pretending with them...”

☆☆☆

Yu Yuan was narrow-minded, dark, and obsessive. An illegitimate son hidden from the world, he swore he would rise above his station. But he was barely out in the world before he fell into the hands of the young Yanran.

She saved him, pitied him, and loved him. She also deceived him, humiliated him, and killed him. As he lay dying, through the swirling sand, he clearly saw sorrow and reluctance in her eyes.

After returning from the gates of death, he cast his hatred aside, wanting only to find her and demand an explanation.

Years had been wasted, and the tides of Luoyang had changed. The Yu family had long since fallen into decline, and the elder brother he had once revered as a god had become the imperial consort. His new sister-in-law was the very woman he had searched for in heaven and hell.

He thought she was pining for her brother-in-law, until she stabbed him straight through. Only then did he understand:

She was still as vicious and treacherous as ever, heartless and cruel. Even with a new face, she was still cold and ruthless to the core.

His hatred awakened in full. He swore to clip her wings, break her spirit, and take away everything she was proud of.

But she was not only his enemy. She was also his beloved and his equal. Perhaps their entanglement could only end with one of them dead...

Theme: Love means understanding, supporting, and helping each other become whole.