The Noblewoman Became a Concubine

When Li Tang first fell in love, she fell for Wan Zhichu.

She hid and guarded her feelings with great care, but in the end, they went their separate ways.

When they met again, he was a powerful minister at court, while she had become the daughter of a disgraced official.

She entered his estate and became a bird in his cage.

The world scorned and mistreated her, and he never stopped suspecting her.

She learned to endure, to bow her head, and to do everything as he wished.

She always thought he still loved her and was merely resentful about what had happened back then.

Until one day at a palace banquet, the emperor, drunk, pointed at her and ordered her to serve him.

Without a moment's hesitation, Wan Zhichu replied, "She's nothing but a plaything for my amusement. If Your Majesty wants her, I'll send her over tonight."

Only then did Li Tang truly wake up. She turned and left.

*

Wan Zhichu thought she was merely throwing a tantrum and would come back sooner or later.

But later...

She bought a courtyard and registered her own household. A long line of men hoping to marry her waited outside her door.

On a sweltering summer day, he went to bring her back to his estate, only to find the Prince of Loulan declaring his devotion to her: "Loulan isn't as bound by rules as the Central Plains. We don't care about a woman's chastity or whether she's been married before. If you marry me, you can be yourself. I won't take another woman, and I'll be completely faithful to you!"

She saw him, but merely glanced at him indifferently before smiling and nodding.

[Reader's guide]

1. Old-school, melodramatic romance. Both leads are sexually inexperienced.

2. Angsty in the early chapters. If you want sweetness from the beginning, read with caution. The ex's redemption arc starts in Chapter 26.

Coming soon 1: Sweet and satisfying historical romance, I Willingly Become the Minister Beneath the Empress Dowager's Skirts. Please add it to your reading list.

Fu Changying died in the bitter winter cold, in the Yongxiang palace alleys.

She had gone from favored consort to empress to the youngest empress dowager, once enjoying unmatched glory. Yet in the end, the man she loved spent his wedding night with another woman while her corpse lay cold in the snow!

Fu Changying thought that if she could live again, she would never let things end this way.

To her surprise, the heavens answered her prayer. She woke to find herself back when she was still the favored consort, while the man who had betrayed her was teaching her how to seduce the old emperor and whisper in his ear.

A poisonous plan took shape in her mind. She would make this man taste betrayal, too!

Looking across the capital, the only person who could stand against Yuwen Yu was Xiao Shaoling, who had become Left Vice Director of the Secretariat at a remarkably young age.

*

Xiao Shaoling was born into a family of high-ranking officials. He had studied the classics and cultivated the manner of a gentleman, and never judged others by personal preference.

There was only one exception: the favored consort Fu Changying. She used her beauty to manipulate people, had bewitched the emperor into foolishly meddling with the succession, and was entangled with the heir of the Yuwen family!

He thought she was a dangerous temptress who could not be allowed to remain, but he should at least try to reason with her first.

Before he could say a word, she gazed at him with tearful, aggrieved eyes. "I know you're going to say that using my beauty to serve others makes me a menace. But I've never studied and can barely read. I'm nothing like you, with your vast learning and profound knowledge of the classics..."

After holding it in for a long while, Xiao Shaoling said, "I can teach you, but you can't go on as you did before."

Fu Changying: "All right."

Later, Xiao Shaoling went to tutor her as promised, only to find Fu Changying wrapped in a sheer veil. She pulled out a book of a hundred erotic poems and placed it in his hand, her pale fingers brushing his palm and sending a tingling sensation through him. "Minister Xiao, teach me this book today."

He gripped the scorching book, his face livid and his ears red.

She had no intention of reforming. She had simply switched her target to him!

2. Marry That Monk. A sweet little romance. Please add it to your reading list.

[1]

Every day, He Mian asked Wei Xuan three questions:

#Do you love me today?#

#Will you love me tomorrow?#

#Will you marry me someday?#

But every time she asked, Wei Xuan would recite, "Amitabha," then add, "Do not speak such nonsense."

He Mian joked around every day, hoping that Wei Xuan would answer yes for once.

But Wei Xuan never did. He was a monk. He had raised her and indulged her out of compassion, not romantic love. She was simply too greedy to hope that Wei Xuan would marry her.

[2]

One afternoon, cicadas and frogs were calling as heavy rain poured down. The storm trapped He Mian at the foot of the mountain. Wei Xuan woke from a nap after a nightmare and hurried down the mountain in a panic to look for her.

He Mian looked at Wei Xuan, his eyes bloodshot, and began to explain. "Today..."

Before she could finish, Wei Xuan cut her off and rasped out one word: "I will!"

*

After that day, Wei Xuan changed. Every day, he wrote He Mian a little note: "I love you today."

He Mian was astonished and delighted. She clung to him and asked, "What about tomorrow? Will you still love me tomorrow?"

The next day, Wei Xuan added another line to his note: "I'll love you tomorrow, too."

For her sake, Wei Xuan left the mountains and entered the halls of power. He continued to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist prayers, while turning into a demon in the eyes of others. He protected He Mian and promised her a lifetime of peace and happiness.

Theme: Face adversity and bravely press forward