Married by Imperial Decree

[Marriage first, love later / Mutual pining / Childhood friends] Xu Duanyi was graceful and refined, born into a distinguished family. Among the elite families of the capital, countless sons of nobles wanted to marry her. Xie Qingya was a spoiled, dissolute young man. Though exceptionally handsome, his family was in decline, and he was a failure himself. No one expected two people like them to end up together. When the imperial decree arranging their marriage was issued, the sons of the capital's elite nearly beat Xie Qingya to a pulp. Everyone felt sorry for Xu Duanyi, thinking a beautiful flower had been stuck in cow dung. But only Xu Duanyi knew how happy she was to marry him. She knew Xie Qingya didn't like her. So after they married, she behaved herself and never interfered in his affairs. To her surprise, the Xie Qingya who had avoided her at first eventually became the one who couldn't stand it. One day, Xie Qingya pinned her against the window and lightly bit her neck, asking in a hoarse voice, "Xu Duanyi, I told you not to interfere with me. Did you really think I meant it?" Later, he looked at her as though he'd finally admitted defeat. Frustrated and helpless, he buried his face in her shoulder and muttered, "Xu Duanyi, you've known how to handle me since we were kids." - Xie Qingya made a name for himself at a young age, but lost his father and elder brother in a battle. The Prince's estate fell into decline, and the young general's star fell just as swiftly. To uncover the truth behind what happened, Xie Qingya lay low and deliberately played the part of a dissolute wastrel. He knew Xu Duanyi was the Empress Dowager's spy, and understood that their positions had long since put them at odds, but he still couldn't help falling in love with her. Again and again, he tried to escape, unwilling to let Xu Duanyi cloud his mind. He wanted to kill Xu Duanyi, to kill the woman who affected and controlled him, but in the end he could only let himself knowingly sink deeper. Next up: My Husband Cheated, So I Divorced Him Curator × Ceramic artist [Second male lead takes the lead / Years of secret love come true / No getting back together with the ex] 1. Jiang Yuwei and Song Zhihe went from school uniforms to wedding gowns, but their marriage shattered completely in its third year. When the other woman showed up with her pregnancy test, Jiang Yuwei was in her gallery touching up an unfinished oil painting. It showed Song Zhihe as a teenager, but the final stroke of paint had abruptly blurred into dark red. The eldest daughter of the Jiang family didn't believe in swallowing humiliation, so Jiang Yuwei chose to divorce him. 2. No one knew that Xu Yi, the youngest and most highly awarded ceramic artist on the international stage, had been secretly in love with someone for years. He'd had a crush on Jiang Yuwei for ten whole years, ever since high school. A friend once teased him, "Are you really going to love her your whole life? I think you're only so fixated because you can't have her. If you did, your unattainable dream girl would just become an ordinary wife." "Besides, can you really live like a monk forever?" Xu Yi smiled faintly and said nothing. On the day he learned Jiang Yuwei's marriage had fallen apart, Xu Yi was accepting an award and answering questions. In a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, he delivered his acceptance speech in an easy, languid manner. But when someone beside him quietly brought up the gossip, the usually unflappable Xu Yi froze on camera for the first time. That day, Xu Yi walked into Yuwei's flower shop for the first time. He knew Yuwei had been hurt, knew that after what she'd been through with Song Zhihe, she no longer believed in love. She'd thanked him politely and turned him down, and everyone who knew him had urged him to give up, telling him not to try to warm a cup of tea that would never get warm. He merely stroked a cracked celadon cup tenderly and fondly. At the bottom, hidden from view beneath the glaze, was a tiny, faint rose. Xu Yi gazed at the crack and said something his friend couldn't understand: "Someone broke it. I'll warm every shard, then put it back together." 3. Later, Song Zhihe came to see Yuwei. Ever since they'd separated, he hadn't gone a day without regretting it. He wanted to get back together with her, but the words caught in his throat when he saw the person at the door. Xu Yi was wearing pajamas, and the room behind him was warm and lived-in. Leaning against the entryway, he asked calmly, "Mr. Song, what can I do for you?" Later still, Xu Yi's studio released a work photo. In the picture, Xu Yi stood before the kiln in plain linen clothes, sparks leaping behind him. He held an ice-crackle, sunflower-rimmed cup, both rustic and beautiful. At first, fans were just surprised that Mr. Xu, who rarely smiled, looked especially gentle that day. Then someone noticed the cup reflected the figure of a beautiful woman in a qipao curled up on the sofa. Fans asked Xu Yi about his love life, assuming that the thousand-year-old tree had finally blossomed. Xu Yi simply posted one message on social media: [It's warm now.] [Cover image source: Jiuxiangcun-Wuzhen] Theme: Even when you're in dire straits, don't give up on yourself too easily.