A Pearl of a Thousand Blessings

[Officially published exclusively on Jinjiang Literature City. All rights reserved.]

In the bloom of youth, Xiao Yuan first arrived in Chang'an.

She was in awe of the bustling capital, and fell for its most dazzling young man.

Xie Jinfeng, the eldest imperial prince, had made his name at a young age. Before he was twenty, he had won a battle that made him a legend, and his fame shook the nine provinces.

A heaven-blessed prodigy like him was admired by countless princes and royal descendants and loved by countless daughters of noble families. He was a sun high in the heavens, visible to all but out of reach.

The Xiao family was small and humble, and she was a sickly girl who would not live to see twenty.

She thought it would be enough to secretly love him all her life, watching from afar as he achieved greatness, married, had children, and lived happily ever after.

But who could have guessed she would hear of his death first?

Beyond Jiayu Pass, beneath the boundless desert, a general's tomb was left on the battlefield.

Xiao Yuan, too, failed to survive that winter, dying of illness at just eighteen.

When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the year she was a girl of fifteen.

*

Xiao Yuan learned that Xie Jinfeng's downfall had another story behind it.

Reborn once, she faced the treacherous imperial court, knowing what she wanted to do was impossible, yet still trying to unravel the trap that would lead to his death.

She attended every palace banquet he was at, joined him as a fellow student at Chang'an Academy, spent evenings with him beneath the setting sun, and walked with him through the spring mornings.

She knew her life would be short, so she asked for nothing. She only wished for the one she loved to live in peace and safety.

She felt that getting to be close to him for the first time in either life, even for a brief moment, was enough to make this love complete.

Until the night of the palace coup. Unable to defy fate, she resolved to die, but Xie Jinfeng wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her forcefully into his embrace.

The young prodigy bowed his head, filling her vision completely. His gaze trembled with grief and pain, brimming with love.

“Don't die.”

“Don't leave me.”

Drenched in blood and clutching his sword, Xie Jinfeng protected her all night long.

Xiao Yuan had grown used to quietly watching the sun rise each day, but never imagined that one day her sun would descend to earth and come running to her.

*

Later, they won a great victory at the mountain pass. The soldiers, clad in armor and wielding weapons, were invincible.

Beneath the imperial palace, the frail, sickly beauty, who had to stop for breath every few steps, lifted her skirts and hurried toward her general.

Amidst the countless soldiers, the God of War leaned down from his fine horse and caught his beloved in his arms, kissing the tears from the corners of her eyes again and again, with reverence and tenderness.

I once fought for you, and I will always be proud of you.

[A gentle, wise, frail beauty × a young God of War who will do anything to protect his wife]

[Reading Guide]

1. A sweet romance. The leads are each other's first partners in both lives. The male lead has no romantic past and is devoted to his wife.

2. In her previous life, the male lead devoted himself to his country and never knew the heroine. They had no fate together. In this life, he pursues her.

3. The heroine's childhood nickname is Zhuzhu. She grows over the course of the story. Being reborn isn't just about changing the male lead's fate, but also about saving herself and breaking free of the shackles of feudal society.

4. To reiterate: the male lead pursues the female lead. The male lead pursues the female lead. The male lead pursues the female lead. There is no painful, one-sided pining from the heroine. If that's what you like, this isn't for you. In her previous life, the heroine's love was unrequited only because the male lead had never seen her. In this life, once he sees her, he falls for her at first sight.

*Blurb written on October 16, 2022, with a screenshot saved for the record.

Theme: A young woman's love is pure, free of desire or demands.