Embroidery in the Boudoir

[The second volume of the print edition goes on preorder at 20:00 on December 6. Feel free to follow it if you’re interested!]

In her previous life, Xie Yunchu followed every rule. She observed the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, cared for her husband, and dutifully served her parents-in-law. One day, after organizing her mother-in-law’s birthday banquet, she caught a chill. Years of exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she collapsed. The doctor said she had less than six months to live.

Her stepmother came to visit and, after consulting with her in-laws, took it upon herself to bring over her own younger daughter, Xie Yunchu’s stepsister. She claimed the girl was there to care for Xie Yunchu, but her real plan was to have her marry Wang Shuhuai after Xie Yunchu died.

Her in-laws went all out to make it happen, while Wang Shuhuai remained silent and raised no objection. Even her own children complained that she was too strict and preferred their gentle, virtuous aunt. Everyone was pleased. No one asked what she wanted.

Xie Yunchu coughed up blood and died.

When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the time when her husband had just entered officialdom.

She looked at her mother-in-law, waiting for her to serve her; her husband, brimming with ambition and expecting her to manage the household; her sister-in-law, asking her to play matchmaker when it was time to discuss marriage; and the children, still helpless infants who hadn't yet been spoiled rotten...

Since she had been given another life, she would live it on her own terms. As for the Wang family, they could go cool their heels somewhere else.

*

Wang Shuhuai was the eldest legitimate son of a century-old aristocratic clan, raised to be dignified and pure of character, with striking good looks. He married Xie Yunchu, whose family background, looks, and temperament were beyond reproach by the standards of the entire capital. He had lived by the rules all his life, even keeping himself remarkably restrained in the bedroom.

Until one day, he discovered that his always proper and decorous wife had stopped tying up her hair. Her smile shone as brightly as spring flowers, and she told someone with a playful lilt, “It’s fine. I can just get a divorce.”

Wang Shuhuai felt as though pins were pricking him all over and began wondering what he’d done wrong.

(The whole cast gets their comeuppance.)

(Driving the aloof beauty to the brink of madness.)

Coming next: Feng Yi (A battle of wits between a female official and the emperor, as a refined, wicked emperor is brought down from his pedestal.)

Blurb: Li Sheng'er was the least distinguished among the female officials selected to enter the palace, but she was the most beautiful. The other young women guarded against her at every turn and wouldn't let her appear before the emperor.

By chance, Li Sheng'er fell into trouble with the emperor, who came to her rescue.

At first, the emperor thought the young official was innocent, gentle, and easy to bully, so he sought her out to pass the time. Later, captivated by her soft, flowerlike beauty, he took her to his bed.

Sheng'er timidly asked the emperor, “Your Majesty, could you make me a Noble Lady?”

Only a Noble Lady could preside over a palace. Sheng'er didn't want to be pushed around by others while living under their roof.

She was his first woman, and she thought that made her special to him.

The emperor remembered that her father held only a modest post. He casually brushed a loose strand of hair from her temple, his expression unmoved. “There are rules governing the ranks of consorts. Your station is not high enough for you to become a Noble Lady.”

“And I will not break the rules for anyone.”

His words pierced Sheng'er's heart. Clutching her thin robe, she silently swallowed her tears in the rain-drenched night. At last, she understood: he would always be the lofty emperor, and she was nothing more than a small comfort between meals. She returned to her room, heartbroken, and secretly searched everywhere for contraceptive soup.

The emperor hoped Sheng'er would bear him a child. One month passed, then two, but no happy news came. Instead, he heard that she had taken contraceptive soup.

That day, snow fell heavily, and cups and bowls lay shattered all over the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

At first, he'd thought that once she was pregnant, he might consider making her a Noble Lady.

Later, he racked his brains trying to find a way to put the phoenix seal in her hands.

(A groveling emperor's pursuit of his wife, a battle of wits between a female official and the emperor.)

(A refined, wicked emperor brought down from his pedestal.)

Note: This is not a palace-intrigue story. One-on-one romance.

Theme: Perseverance leads to victory