Sunlight Hidden in My Sleeve

[The author’s series, “A Blessing in Disguise,” is now underway. It’s a story by Da Bu, so give it a try. This novel was originally titled “Springtime at the Imperial Terrace.” Delicate hands, sleeves hiding the light of heaven: that light is the emperor’s favor. [Blurb] As emperor, Chen Ling is always cool and self-possessed in the eyes of his ministers, devoted to the affairs of state, with only one soft and cuddly little crown prince by his side. Only Chen Ling knows that she has always bound her chest and disguised herself as a man while sitting on that perilous dragon throne. Three years after Chen Ling ascends the throne, King Tan launches a rebellion during her southern tour. She and the crown prince are trapped amid the rebel forces, and Shen Ci risks his life to save them, caring nothing for his own safety. Then an awkward scene unfolds: when the little crown prince stands beside General Shen, why do they look so much alike? Shen Ci has always kept a secret no one else knows. At first, the late emperor found his fourth son, Chen Ling, who had been living away from the palace, and appointed Shen Ci as his companion. Shen Ci worried that the fourth prince was too refined and delicate. He would secretly cry when a stone hit his foot, and when he got tired of walking, his eyes would turn red as he asked Shen Ci to carry him. Among the princes, Chen Ling was always the one who got bullied... So Shen Ci always took his side, and Chen Ling grew close to him. Later, the situation at court grew murky and dangerous. The crown prince died, and Chen Ling was thrust into the position of heir amid a storm of political intrigue. After that, many companions came to the Eastern Palace, but Chen Ling remained close to Shen Ci... One year, during the autumn hunt, someone tampered with Chen Ling’s wine, and Shen Ci mistakenly drank her cup. What happened afterward was like a chaotic dream. In a daze, he heard her crying beside him, calling him Brother Zi’an. The dream seemed absurd, yet it felt so real and fulfilling that he couldn’t bring himself to wake... When he sobered up, he saw the late emperor’s consort trembling on her knees in the room and realized he had committed a grave offense. Chen Ling said with a dark expression, “For the sake of the Shen family’s generations of loyalty, I will let this matter end here. But from today on, get out of the Eastern Palace...” Shen Ci didn’t offer a single word of explanation. During Shen Ci’s four years stationed at the border, he first heard that Chen Ling had fallen seriously ill and gone to recuperate at the imperial retreat. Later, she ascended the throne, methodically purged her rivals at court, and consolidated her power, becoming a diligent and wise ruler in the eyes of her ministers. She was no longer the Chen Ling he remembered, the one who cried even when a branch scratched her hand... Shen Ci never expected to encounter Chen Ling and the crown prince trapped in danger while visiting his aunt. On the journey escorting the emperor and crown prince back to the capital, Shen Ci tossed and turned. The crown prince was just three years old, and the timing matched that autumn hunt... Shen Ci knelt before the emperor. “This general humbly asks Your Majesty to return my son to me.” Chen Ling, fighting through her period cramps, snapped irritably, “Get out!” A few things to know before reading: 1. Childhood friends, one-on-one romance, sweet story, happy ending. 2. One update a day before the paid chapters, two updates a day afterward. The main story of the same-series novel “Snow Over the Endless Sky” is complete. Please add the upcoming “A Blessing in Disguise” to your reading list and show it some love! 3. The heroine is an emperor who disguises herself as a man. When she first returns to the capital, she is timid, but she gradually grows into a ruler. The story opens after she has already become emperor. It features a strong female lead and court intrigue; it isn’t all sweet romance, but an even mix of both. 4. The leads have an adorable little child together, and there are scenes of them raising the child. If that’s not your thing, please read something else. 5. The author also has a novel called “I Accept the Edict,” about a crown prince and a female companion at the Eastern Palace who disguises herself as a man, set in Southern Shun. This novel, “Light Hidden in Her Sleeves,” is set in Yan and Han. They belong to the same series and overlap, so you can read them together. 6. Important! The anti-piracy threshold is 80%, with a 72-hour delay. Please don’t buy if you mind. The next novel in the same series, “Pillowtalk in Spring” (also by Da Bu), is now underway. Feel free to jump in! [Blurb One] A clever, beautiful amnesiac crown princess X a peerlessly elegant tutor who only pretends to be mild-mannered Spring rain falls endlessly outside the pavilion. Chancellor Wei personally welcomes his honored guest. “You’ve always been detached from worldly desires and unwilling to enter government service. Why have you agreed to stay in the capital as a tutor this time?” Chen Xiuyuan lifts his teacup. His long, slender fingers have clearly defined bones, and beneath his exquisite features, a smile plays at his lips. “Someone stole the cat from my home. It saw me and didn’t recognize me, so I’ll have to stay in the capital for a while...” Chancellor Wei knows he’s joking. “The crown princess is young. I’ll have to trouble you to guide her.” Chen Xiuyuan smiles. “It’s only right.” * That night, the palace attendant on duty in the sleeping chamber has nodded off several times, but the crown princess is still copying texts. Chen Xiuyuan sits beside her, holding a book. His voice is as cool as the night. “Your Highness doesn’t have a very good memory. You’ll need to copy the text several times to remember it...” A night breeze stirs. Lianqing’s gaze stills for a moment as she realizes he won’t leave tonight. When no one else is in the sleeping chamber, Chen Xiuyuan slowly sets down the book and says softly, “Come here.” Lianqing wraps her arms around the back of his neck, her eyes sinking into the darkness of night. [Blurb Two] The emperor has been bedridden for a long time, and his children are few. When Lianqing wakes up one morning, she has gone from being a distant imperial relative to the crown prince caught in the eye of a storm. Every step is perilous... At court, the currents are treacherous, everyone schemes and deceives, and each person has their own agenda. She becomes a bargaining chip that every great family wants in its grasp, and a beauty coveted by the nobility. Only he is always there behind her, his gaze calm, his voice cool as the night. He tells her that she is a woman, and she can still become a wise ruler. Whether or not he is there in the future, she can keep moving forward, dependent on no one. She can make her own way! * He lays aside the pride he has held all his life, bows his head as her subject, and accompanies her step by step as she ascends the imperial throne. She, too, can rule the world, concealing all the springtime beauty and splendor in her eyes for one person... Upcoming novel: “The Moon Fell into the Well” Li Sheng remembers the first time he met Xu Lu in person. Xu Lu’s cat had climbed a tree, so she climbed up after it. The awkward part was that the cat came down, but she couldn’t... The second time Li Sheng met Xu Lu was when the department invited a popular celebrity to help film a fire safety awareness video. Li Sheng watched Xu Lu expertly take out and use a fire extinguisher, spraying him from head to toe... The promotional video goes live, and the topic quickly shoots to the top of the trending list. Why do our darling Lu and the firefighter next to her look so good together? The captain’s kind of manly, and his voice is great too. I could listen to him for a thousand years. This pairing is pretty sweet. I want to ship them. Short scene one: One day, a topic hinting that a certain popular young actress had lied about her education quickly shoots to the top of the trending list. Someone tags Li Sheng: Do you know whether your Xu Lu lied about her education? Li Sheng: Yeah, it’s fake. She didn’t go to S University, she went to Z University. She came to a fire drill. Z University?!!!! Aren’t people who get into Z University supposed to do research? Go get a doctorate! Xu Lu replies: I’m working on it. Short scene two: At dawn, Li Sheng emerges from a fireground still thick with smoke, the blaze only just extinguished. Still in his firefighting gear, he sits by the roadside to rest and drink some water. The avatar labeled “Darling Lu” bounces on his phone screen. Li Sheng smiles. His tired voice has a hint of huskiness. “Miss Xu, what’s up?” On the other end, Xu Lu closes her script and switches to a coquettish tone in an instant. “Something’s up. Something huge!” “What happened?” Watching the faint morning mist in the distance, Li Sheng lights a cigarette, amusement tucked in his eyes. “The moon fell into the well!” “...” A top student, beautiful, and affectionate national sweetheart X a firefighter captain overflowing with boyfriend appeal Theme: The heroine goes from being timid and anxious when she first enters the Eastern Palace to gradually growing into a worthy ruler after ascending the throne, pushed to grow by hardship and adversity. They support each other, walk side by side, and usher in a splendid age of prosperity.