The Hostage's Decree

[Notice: My new novel, Frost on Your Brows, is coming soon. The preview is below~]

Li Xu was stripped of his position as crown prince at eighteen and sent as a hostage to an enemy state. By twenty-two, he held tremendous power.

He was cruel and cold, yet dignified and restrained. In this chaotic age, he was the most formidable ruler, with all the bearing of a great conqueror.

And yet a man like him was willing to bend down just to put a shoe on Lin Fengmian's foot in the freezing snow.

The world said that the Lin family's daughter bewitched men's hearts.

No one knew that in that year, while he was imprisoned in the palace's secluded quarters, she endured the agony of having her bones scraped and fought her way through a gauntlet of blades and fire, all to tell him, "Your Highness, even if you never take the throne, one day you will become the hope of the people."

In her previous life, the name of temptress had followed Lin Fengmian all her life. Only on the brink of death did she realize she had been nothing but a pawn of Mu Jiancheng. For this man, she had turned against everyone. In the end, she died full of resentment, and hardly deserved anyone's pity.

Reborn, she opened her eyes and threw herself into Crown Prince Li Xu's arms. Resolutely returning to her homeland, she saved her family and exposed one conspiracy after another.

People of the time said: The Lin family's young lady is beautiful, to be sure, but no one dares marry her. Lin Fengmian merely smiled. That was still better than being called a temptress.

Many years later, while reading the history books, Lin Fengmian finally learned that in that year, when she was locked in prison, Li Xu had broken through three palace gates, slaughtered the imperial guards, and stormed into Chengming Hall, all to demand of the emperor, "Where have you hidden her?"

Cover art credit: Yingfenghe. Find them on Weibo.

[Coming Soon]

Frost on Your Brows

Preview One:

Li Jiyue was the fifth princess of the Liang Dynasty. In the year she came of age, the imperial family planned to choose a suitable match for her from among the descendants of four feudal princes.

Who could have guessed that on the birthday celebration, Su Jiulang, her intended, would be poisoned and go mad on the spot?

Then the son of Prince Qi,

And then the heir of Prince Ning.

One man after another connected to Li Jiyue met with an accident. She couldn't help wondering if someone was plotting against her.

Preview Two:

Shen Zhai had done all this simply to become the emperor's son-in-law.

He wanted to become a royal son-in-law, of course, not because he loved the spoiled and willful little princess, but to give his family a chance to rise again, gain swift promotion, and reach the highest offices of state.

In the end, he succeeded, and rose to even greater heights. He held military power, and no one dared look down on him anymore.

When Shen Zhai was amassing troops and strengthening his own position, the court sent three imperial edicts in quick succession:

First edict: Shen Zhai, guilty of dereliction of duty, is stripped of his post as military governor of Hedong.

Second edict: Shen Zhai, guilty of wrongdoing, must hand over his military command before the new moon.

Third edict: In consideration of Minister Shen's role in lifting the siege of Mount Jiu'an three years ago, I pardon him from the death penalty, but strip him of his status as a royal son-in-law.

Shen Zhai remained expressionless at the first two edicts. "I accept." Then he picked up the third yellow-silk edict from the eunuch delivering it. A trace of menace flashed in his eyes as he said, "I advise His Majesty to withdraw this edict. Otherwise, I will invalidate the first two."

Theme: Stay true to your original intentions and choose your own life.