Kindling the Prairie

[The next novels I'm opening for preorders are First Line and Red Plum Blossoms Know the White Snow. Please add them to your reading lists. My historical romance, Rest by Your Side, is complete and ready to binge.]

As the Chancellor's daughter, Su Liao had fine clothes and delicious food every day, but she found life terribly dull. Then one day, her father brought home a boy of unknown origins.

The boy had naturally mismatched eyes. Everyone in the household said he was an ill omen, and even the usually gentle and proper Madam refused to let him stay.

Only Su Liao was especially fond of the boy's eyes. She pestered Madam until she finally gave in and agreed to let him stay. But there was one condition: since Su Liao was the one who wanted to keep him, she would have to take responsibility for him.

The boy's face was cold as he imitated the way others spoke to her. "Young Miss."

Su Liao seemed not to notice his wariness. Instead, she smiled brightly and affectionately ruffled his hair. "Good boy. Call me Big Sis."

*

Years later, the capital of Great Chu fell. Cavalry surged through the streets, and flames consumed every inch of the palace.

The once-glorious Su family had long since fallen into ruin. Escorted by the few loyal retainers she had left, Su Liao fled in panic toward the city gates, only to come face-to-face with the cavalry general in white robes on a black horse.

Blood dripped from the tip of the sword in his hand, staining the hem of his white robes in a striking pattern.

Rong Yuan dismounted and seized the trembling girl in his arms, finally baring his sharp fangs.

The corners of the young man's eyes were scarlet. He gritted out each word as a sea of flames raged behind him.

"Where are you going, Big Sis?"

"You're mine, Big Sis. You're not allowed to go anywhere."

[Bright and lively young lady × yandere, sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside puppy]

[Reading Guide]

1. The heroine's name, Su Liao, is pronounced "liao" with the second tone, and means "beautiful."

2. Older sister and younger brother, both virgins, happy ending, entirely fictional setting. No historical research needed.

[Upcoming Novel 1: First Line]

Ji Chuyao was born on the eighteenth day of the first month of the eighteenth year of Yongping.

The blind fortune-teller in town excitedly grabbed her hand and declared that she had been blessed by heaven with a fate that let her communicate with ghosts and spirits and divine the secrets of the universe. He insisted on taking her as his apprentice.

Ji Chuyao rolled her eyes. She'd never even seen the shadow of a ghost in her whole life. How was she supposed to communicate with them?

But with both her parents dead, Ji Chuyao had no choice if she wanted to survive. She took up the blind fortune-teller's tools, headed alone to the capital, hung out a sign claiming to be a master diviner, and started conning people.

One day, a royal proclamation went up on a street corner. It announced that Crown Prince Sheng Yunchao was plagued by evil spirits, and offered a reward of ten thousand taels of gold to anyone who could drive them away. Ji Chuyao's eyes lit up. She tore down the proclamation without a second thought. With her skills at swindling people, getting her hands on that gold would be a piece of cake.

But after she'd spent days putting on a mystical act, she noticed that the young crown prince, dressed in splendid black and gold but pale as snow, was growing thinner by the day. It looked as if the evil spirits might really be about to claim his life.

Ji Chuyao's heart finally softened.

She took a deep breath, her expression unusually serious. Removing the copper coins strung around her wrist and marked with cinnabar, she closed her eyes, lit incense, and gently shook her wrist.

Only she knew the truth: she really had been blessed by heaven with a special fate.

But Ji Chuyao hadn't expected Sheng Yunchao, who seemed to have fallen asleep, to suddenly open his eyes. He leaned over and pinned her into a corner of the bed, his slender fingers lightly hooking the copper coins in her palm. His voice was low and teasing. "Miss Ji, dropping the act?"

Ji Chuyao: Thanks for asking. I'm currently caught in the middle of getting exposed. Don't ask. It's embarrassing.

[Playfully shrewd, quirky orphaned fortune-teller who pretends to be helpless so she can swindle people × doting crown prince who sees through her but quietly lets her perform]

[Upcoming Novel 2: Red Plum Blossoms Know the White Snow]

Yu Wei was the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Revenue. She should have spent her life in luxury, but when a new dynasty came to power, the Yu family had backed the wrong side. The new emperor slaughtered every man in the family and made servants of all the women.

Yu Wei went from being an admired young lady of the capital to a palace servant everyone could bully, enduring endless torment and humiliation.

In the depths of winter, she knelt outside the imperial study in a thin robe, letting the cold snow cover her from head to toe.

Then the Imperial Tutor, who held all power at court, appeared before her. He bent down and draped a cloak around her shoulders, saying in a clear, gentle voice, "Get up."

Yu Wei stared up at him in a daze.

Looking at the slender yet still radiant girl before him, Gu Changjing's thoughts drifted back three years.

A bitter wind whipped up fine snowflakes as he knelt outside the Yu residence's vermilion gates, begging the family to investigate the injustice done to his family.

No one answered him. Only Yu Wei came down the stone steps through the deep snow. Her cloak, embroidered with red plum blossoms, trailed across the white snow as she held an umbrella over his head.

She said, "Get up."

Their love grew deep and bloomed in their hearts. Only the red plum blossoms and the white snow knew.

[A sweet little story about two people saving each other.]

Theme: Companionship and commitment matter.