The Great General Waited Ten Years

Du Jinyu first saw Lu Zongyao in a portrait. Her family was arranging a marriage for her, and portrait after portrait of sons from prominent families was sent to their home. She could barely be bothered to look at them, until the wind blew Lu Zongyao's portrait to her feet. A proud, stern face, with a high nose, deep-set eyes, and brows sharp as if carved by a blade. He was like a keen sword, piercing straight into her heart. "I'll take him." Her pale, slender fingertip landed on the portrait. But he rejected her, saying that the noblewomen of the capital were stiff and dull. She met Lu Zongyao in person when she traveled to the frontier with her maternal grandfather. They crossed paths at a mountain pass. He stood before the city gate with a sword in hand, his phoenix eyes glinting like ice. Everyone around her said Lu Zongyao was hard as iron, cold and unfeeling, and impossible to approach. She smiled. Really? Then she would just have to get close to him. Later, political upheaval broke out at court, and she hurried back to the capital. They met again on Chang'an Street, its eaves covered in icicles. His eyes burned with fury as he pressed her firmly against the wall, his thumb brushing her glistening lips. "Marry me, and I'll protect the Du family for you." Du Jinyu straightened his collar for him. "The frontier is bitterly cold. Take care of yourself." Her family fell into misfortune, and her father and uncles were demoted one after another. She entered the palace as a female official, and from then on they were separated by north and south. Two years later, she returned to Hexi, under secret orders to investigate him. "Du Jinyu, how dare you?" He lifted his head from her neck, his eyes seeming to bleed. That night, the red candles burned without going out, and the brocade quilt was tossed about. During the Lantern Festival palace coup, rebels stormed the city. Shackled and covered in chains, she was dragged by a jailer to Yong'an Palace, where the great hall was stained with blood. By then, he was a frontier official with an enormous army at his command. Even Prince Xiang, who had forced his way into the palace, had to defer to him. As the palace gates closed, everyone wondered how terribly their chief eunuch would torment the female chancellor, who had governed the court for years and stood above countless men. No one knew that the proud, aloof Chief Eunuch Lu was holding Du Jinyu ever so carefully, kissing her with restrained tenderness. "Why didn't you come to me? Didn't you say I was your last refuge? Du Jinyu, I've waited for you for ten years." She raised her bloodstained hand and gently touched the scar on his brow. "Lu Zongyao, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." * Set in an alternate Tang Dynasty, with plenty of creative liberties. Historical nitpicking and pointless arguments are unwelcome. At heart, this is a sweet romance, focused on the relationship, with a little political intrigue and just a tiny bit of angst mixed in with the sweetness. If it's not your thing, please don't be rude. Let's all enjoy the story in peace. Thank you. Theme: I just want to see a wider world.