The Minister's Plot

[Synopsis]

This is the bittersweet story of Zhao Qingwan, the Grand Princess Fuhui of the Ning Dynasty, and Chu Yanchen, the eldest son of the powerful Chu clan.

Playful Blurb:

Princess Fuhui Zhao Qingwan trained hard in martial arts and exercised every day. She thought that if she mastered a strong set of skills, she could protect her refined and gentle childhood friend, Xie Jia'an, who dreamed of serving the country as an incorruptible official, speaking up for the people, and earning a place in the history books.

But she never imagined that one day those very skills would help her force herself on someone.

Of course, that's not the point. The point is that she got the wrong person. Looking at the Dali Temple Vice Minister Chu Yanchen, famed as "the most beautiful man in the capital" and supposedly "too frail to even care for himself," Zhao Qingwan, whose heart belonged elsewhere and who had hoped to avoid taking responsibility, couldn't help feeling she was being rather unreasonable...

A Little Inner Monologue

Before Marriage

Princess: Even if you are the most beautiful person under heaven, you may have my body, but you will never have my heart.

Powerful Minister: Your heart? No need. Really, no need.

After Marriage

Princess: My husband is such a feast for the eyes. It's only my heart, right? You can have it. All of it.

Powerful Minister: Jiaojiao has been in low spirits lately. How about I take leave and bring her on an outing in the countryside?

Literary Blurb:

"Huaijin, though we have been apart for so long, I miss you all the more. My thoughts return constantly to my home, and you fill my dreams. You once said that with wolves and tigers at our gates, you could not help but give your all, and with the land still unsettled, you could not treat your life lightly. Now, in this age of peace and prosperity, have your wishes come true?"

For her, this age of peace and prosperity meant that the songs and revelry had ended, and her old friend was gone; the joy of ten miles of festivities could never be found again.

"Jiaojiao, my ambitions in this life do not lie with the world. For the rest of my days, I only wish to stand with you at dusk and ask you by the stove, with a smile, if the porridge is warm."

For him, this age of peace and prosperity ultimately meant that a thousand tangled thoughts of longing had nowhere to go, and there was no place in this world for his heart.

For the two of them, this world ultimately meant that they were separated by distant roads, with no word from one another, and only then did they understand the pain of parting.

PS: This is an alternate-history setting. This story is only about romance and longing. The author, whose thought process is simple, reserves the final say on all the story's worldbuilding.

PS again: This is a serious historical drama! Even if it sometimes seems lighthearted and sweet, the story as a whole is serious and proper historical drama! That's the important part: serious drama! Read with caution if that's not your thing!

[Cover character design artist: Nan Yu of Ten Miles of Joy]

[Several completed novels are available and ready to binge. Find them in the author's profile.]

[Upcoming Novel] The Beauty of the Capital

Gu Lingyi was born as radiant as peach blossoms, bright and dignified. She was the most outstanding young lady of the Gu clan, and the empress everyone envied. Yet now, she was withered and gaunt.

Just beyond the window, the husband she had spent half her life pursuing and struggling to keep was carefully holding her cousin's hand, his eyes filled with a tenderness she had never seen before.

As she lay dying, Gu Lingyi thought back over her life and was consumed with regret.

Some people's hearts, it turned out, could never be warmed.

Gu Lingyi died gravely ill, her heart full of despair. She never expected that when she opened her eyes again, she would return to the day she became entangled with Zhongli Xu.

At the time, she was tugging on Zhongli Xu's sleeve, trying to persuade him to accept the fine warm jade she had painstakingly carved.

Everyone knew that Gu Lingyi was in love with the Second Prince.

But no one expected her to gaze at him for a long moment, then turn her eyes and say loudly, "Second Prince, I have feelings for your royal uncle, Prince Yu. But he is so busy with official duties that I have no chance to meet him. Please pass this piece of warm jade to Prince Yu for me..."

She lowered her head slightly. At the mention of "Prince Yu," her cheeks flushed, her expression shy and girlish.

That shyness had once been reserved for him alone.

Zhongli Xu did not care for Gu Lingyi.

He had always preferred elegant, gentle women. Gu Lingyi's beautiful face was more delicate than a flower, and her lovely features more alluring than spring blossoms. Her look was too bold and sultry, and he found it vulgar.

But behind Gu Lingyi stood the Gu family, a clan held in high favor by the emperor.

And now this alluring woman, who had once had eyes only for him, kept declaring her admiration for his young royal uncle.

In that moment, a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

He was jealous.

Everyone knew that Prince Yu, Zhongli Jing, was handsome as an immortal, with a smile like a spring breeze, and could kill without lifting a finger.

Yet when the rumor that a Gu family girl had fallen for Prince Yu reached his ears, the inscrutable man blushed at the tips of his ears and chuckled softly. "Silly girl."

No one knew that in her previous life, the Gu family's daughter had been able to hold on to her position as empress only because Prince Yu had secretly looked after her.

In the Prince Yu's residence, behind layer upon layer of security and mechanisms in his study, lay an ordinary little medicine bottle.

It was the "life-saving favor" Gu Lingyi had done for Zhongli Jing.

Zhongli Jing had never liked owing anyone a debt.

So even though he knew his cold-hearted nephew had considerable ambition, he did nothing to stop him, and let Gu Lingyi have her way.

At first, he only wanted to protect her.

He never expected that, in protecting her, he would let her into his heart.

Theme: Love of country and family, and the affections of men and women