Full Banquet

The blurb for the upcoming novel is below. My column already has a completed story, and a new one is currently being serialized.

[This Story]

· The second male lead takes the spotlight, so a certain someone has fewer appearances early on.

· A marriage-first, love-later story, with a devoted one-on-one romance and no angst in the relationship.

· An alternate history with many original settings. Chapter One provides background and can be skipped! (Though I recommend reading it.)

[Gentle, Ailing Emperor] x [Content, Clear-Eyed Bride in Her Sister's Place]

The Liang Kingdom is rife with sorcery and poison arts, and shamans and poison masters are held in high esteem.

A palace coup claims the life of Emperor Tianqi and the Crown Prince. A young emperor ascends the throne.

Ren Yu is a maid in the Chancellor's household. The year she came of age, she was brought before Han Huai, the Chancellor's son. He had a cold aura, yet was blessed with a handsome face.

After only a few words, she clumsily fell into his trap and became a stand-in for the woman he cherished.

She learned to mimic that woman's every smile and frown, every gesture and movement.

Before Han Huai, she played the part of a well-behaved substitute.

Until his gaze grew more and more infatuated. He stared at her, lost in a daze, then shoved her to the ground in disgust. "No matter how well you imitate her, you're still not her!"

On the day of the imperial wedding, Ren Yu sat anxiously in the bridal sedan, dressed in a fiery red wedding gown.

This was a fated marriage divined by the Imperial Preceptor.

She was getting married, under duress.

Her groom was the husband meant for Han Huai's beloved: the ailing, puppet emperor of legend.

The sickly Zhou Yan, who wasn't expected to live past twenty.

When her red veil was lifted, she saw the young emperor.

He was handsome and noble, gentle as jade, though illness showed between his brows. In a soft voice, he called, "Empress."

His repeated calls of "Empress" rescued her from the depths of despair.

She fell for him, but she had no right to.

She was merely a substitute who had taken someone else's place.

Just when Ren Yu thought life could remain calm and uneventful, Han Huai forcefully barged back into her life. His gaze possessive, he asked her, "Would you be my empress?"

Blurb for Shuyan

"Lin Qingqing."

The handsome general, his face covered in blood, struggled to give her a faint smile.

"If you meet me in your next life, run. We always end up dying together in such an ugly way."

-

When Lin Qingqing became a wandering ghost, she often thought of Lin Zhengdu.

She lowered her head and touched her chest. The pain still lingered there.

She watched helplessly as Lin Zhengdu's corpse was brutally dragged away from hers. She watched the Crown Prince hold her dead body and weep tears of blood.

Lin Qingqing could feel nothing.

She had become a mere spectator.

Her body was cremated, and her ashes ground into a string of beads. She became a ghost, tethered to the prince's side.

She watched him achieve his wish and claim the supreme throne.

Then she opened her eyes and found herself back in the past.

Theme: Be content and live well