Liu Jiangruan, the capital's most well-connected young lady, lives by a four-character motto: eat, drink, and wait to die.
While others fight tooth and nail for fame and fortune, she props her chin on her hand and watches the rain. Court intrigues and shifts in power are all a hundred thousand miles away from her. Surrounded by immeasurable wealth, she has no idea what it means to worry.
Until someone unearths an old case from the previous dynasty. The edges of the world begin to crumble, bit by bit, beneath her feet.
At last, the emperor's blade is at the throats of the Liu and Song families. That night, chaos erupts in the capital. Song Ruoyun, the Privy Councilor, joins forces with the imperial son-in-law and raises an army in rebellion, while blood-red light stains half the palace walls. Liu Jiangruan flees in panic with the scattering crowd. Everything she once knew is overturned in an instant, ground to dust.
When they meet again, the world has been turned upside down.
He has become a powerful minister, established in a grand mansion behind red gates. She is a pipa player wearing a veil at the Fuyun Pavilion.
Autumn rain falls without end. At the end of the corridor, he blocks her way, a turbulent, unreadable tide stirring in his eyes. "Liu Lichu, how have you been?"
Her smile vanishes. She lowers her eyes, long lashes hiding everything from the past. "My lord must have mistaken me for someone else. This servant is Fuqing. I have never known any Miss Liu."
Silence presses down like a mountain. After a long while, he laughs softly. "I was mistaken. Forgive me, Miss Fuqing." She turns with her pipa in her arms, her skirt brushing the wet ground. One step, then another, each steady and sure.
His voice follows her through the rain, unhurried and calm. "I'll come listen to your music again tomorrow."
She doesn't look back. But he sees it: her steps pause, just briefly, just a little.
That alone is enough.
He stands beneath the corridor, letting the drizzle soak his robe inch by inch, a faint smile slowly rising on his lips.
It doesn't matter. If she's an iceberg, he'll warm her. If she's a pool of still water, he'll leap in. He has all the time in the world. He has all the patience in the world. He has the rest of his life to wear her down.
[Reader's Guide]
1. A carefree legitimate daughter x a sharp-tongued, devoted powerful minister. The leads undergo a major reversal in their roles, and he has to grovel to win his wife back.
2. Marriage before love x military coup x revenge by a loyal subject of the fallen dynasty. The political intrigue is carefully laid out, and the story doesn't pile on angst just for the sake of it. Late-night inspiration strikes now and then.
3. Ensemble cast, with multiple supporting couples and a complicated web of identities.
4. The plot continues from the previous book. It's a slow-burn story with foreshadowing. If it's not to your taste, please stop reading in time. I hope we'll meet again in the next book.
Theme: Why not have both a career and a family?
Good luck to the author, it's very antique, haha, I've also seen Gongqianliu
After reading a few chapters, I said during the summer vacation that I would write a long review for the author, but due to some things I forgot, so I will write a long review this time. It's really well written. Although it's a Machiavellian romance novel, the writing style is different from other Machiavellian romance novels. It's not just a pile of cool points, but comes slowly. The long-running plot actually adds to the weight of the article. The writing style is more inclined to gorgeous words, but it doesn't make people feel pretentious. Instead, it makes people feel like they are watching a serious movie. The first-person perspective of the drama is extremely detailed, and the emotional lines are well-developed. There are some small ingenuities, and you can see that the author has paid great attention to the research on the ancient background. It seems that the text of the last few pictures has been changed, and I can't read it. I hope that the following plots can be released soon. I really can't wait to know what kind of story happens next.
Is this a worrying amount of clicks? You lied to me\(`Δ')/
Very good, the number of words could be more
It's written well in big letters [cat head] and should be updated all the time.
Come on, big brother, write it down quickly