The Lowly Minister

- Coming soon: the historical fantasy novel "A Pomegranate Blossom for Her (Ghost Hunting)". Please add it to your favorites. The blurb is below.

[Blurb]

Lan Yanshi's first half of life went smoothly. Her invincible father cleared the way for her, and through a twist of fate, she became empress.

That is, until the day Cheng Shi launched a coup. She realized he had blocked off every possible escape.

She would rather die than become his plaything.

At the Immortal Terrace, she leaped from the palace roof. Her blue robes fluttered like those of a celestial maiden, then she crashed to the ground.

She was reborn.

When Lan Yanshi saw him again, she did her best to avoid him.

Who could have guessed that the lame servant boy who once trailed behind her would one day become the most powerful minister in the realm?

She couldn't take him on, but she could stay out of his way!

After Cheng Shi was reborn, he found that whenever his little peony saw him, she turned and ran.

Once, twice... that was the limit of his patience.

"Why are you running?"

"I'm scared!"

He saw her trembling. "What are you scared of?"

"I'm scared it'll hurt."

Her limpid eyes were full of grievance, and he simply couldn't bear to be cruel to her.

"A Shi, it hurt so much when I fell to the ground."

He remembered her leap from the Immortal Terrace in his previous life. His gaze grew unfathomably deep.

"Don't be afraid."

No one will be allowed to bully you in this life.

Coming soon: the historical fantasy novel "A Pomegranate Blossom for Her (Ghost Hunting)"

In the fifteenth year of Tianbao, Emperor Gaozong of Tang ordered Yang Guifei to die in order to save himself.

The consort was strangled to death at Mawei Station and became a homeless, wronged spirit.

Prince Shou brought pomegranates to pay his respects to her. The world has always said, "A rider galloped through the mortal world, bringing a smile to the consort; none knew the lychees had arrived." But who could have known his former wife better than he did?

Nineteen years later, as Prince Shou lay dying, the consort appeared to him in a dream. She asked him to give her a pomegranate blossom that represented true devotion, so her wronged spirit could be reborn in the next life.

When he awoke, he found a pomegranate blossom beside his bed.

So he charged his descendants with fulfilling this task for him.

From then on, in every generation of his descendants, one person would carry a box containing a pomegranate blossom and embark on a journey of dealings with ghosts.

But among the countless women who were strangled to death and became ghosts, which one was she?

After all these years, did the consort's spirit still look as she had back then?

Reading notes:

A 30% advance-reading protection period is in effect for 72 hours.

[Main romantic conflict: Brothers vying against each other] The protagonist is the younger brother, but the older brother also has a lot of scenes and is important. The younger brother is obsessive and rebellious, while the older brother is refined and dangerously unhinged.

1. The female lead is chaste; read with caution.

3. The female lead has no romantic feelings for the emperor from before she was reborn (he is gay).

4. Both the male and female leads are reborn; later in the story, four people will have been reborn.

5. Both leads are beautiful, tragic, and powerful. The male lead is disabled in his previous life, but not after being reborn.

6. There is a love rivalry, but the male lead is set and will not change. The story is one-on-one throughout, with a one-on-one ending.

7. This is a fictional setting, so please don't nitpick historical details.

8. This should be a melodramatic, angsty story.

9. Caution for readers who prefer strong female leads.

Thanks to @Yaoye Yeye for permission to use the background image on the cover.

Thanks to @Feng Qi Shenyuan for the cover lettering.

Theme: Love knows no rank. It means loving not only the glory you once possessed, but also the darkness hidden deep within you.