Married to the Emperor Again

Li Wu, daughter of the Grand Tutor, was born into a prestigious family. Talented and beautiful, she had been childhood friends with the Crown Prince, and the two were betrothed.

Her life had always gone smoothly, until the year the Crown Prince was deposed, when everything took a sudden turn for the worse.

To protect herself, she decisively married someone else.

Her new husband was gentle and considerate, and the two lived in blissful harmony after their wedding.

Who could have guessed that the Crown Prince would one day rise again and ascend the throne?

*

The Crown Prince, once as mild and refined as jade, became a ruthless, merciless emperor in the blink of an eye.

Li Wu kept a low profile and tried to withdraw from the world, deliberately fading from his sight.

But on New Year's Eve, the man appeared behind a folding screen like a ghost.

"A Wu, it's been a long time."

He looked down at her imperiously, his long fingers brushing her swollen lips.

Seeing her frightened, tearful expression, the man's voice turned hoarse. "At a time like this, are you still putting up a pointless struggle?"

*

- HE, minister's wife + melodrama + domineering seizure [Highlight]

- Neither lead is perfect. The heroine is not a virgin, the hero has eyes only for her.

Coming soon: "Song of the Bright Moon." Add it to your collection from my author page.

Shen Yujiao, a noblewoman of Chang'an, was graceful and poised, beautiful and gentle. She was betrothed to Pei Xia of Hedong.

Then disaster struck: her father and brothers were imprisoned, and her entire family was exiled.

To keep the misfortune from affecting their married-out daughter, Madam Shen wrote to the Pei family of Hedong, hoping they would honor the betrothal and take Yujiao as their bride.

Yet on the day of their exile, not a single member of the Pei family appeared.

Supporting her mother, Shen Yujiao remained composed. "Don't wait. Who would marry the daughter of a convicted official? I'm no match for the Pei heir anymore."

She had just turned to leave when hoofbeats sounded behind her.

A young nobleman in fine robes and a jade belt dismounted. Dust from the road could not dim his jade-like features or his clear, bright bearing.

Meeting Shen Yujiao's astonished gaze, the owner of those deep, dark eyes raised his sleeve and bowed. "Pei Xia of Hedong has come to take my wife home."

*

After their marriage, the two treated each other with icy courtesy. Then an accident sent Shen Yujiao down the road as a fugitive.

When she fled into Jinling territory, she happened upon a gang of ruffians dividing their spoils.

As she weighed her options, fighting to the death rather than surrendering, or kneeling to beg and bending with the wind, the gang leader Xie Wuling lifted her chin. A faint smile played in his peach-blossom eyes. "You're a pretty little thing. How about becoming my wife?"

**

Pei Xia of Hedong was a gentleman as pure as jade, devoted to his country and family, with no interest in romance.

He had defied everyone's objections to marry Shen Yujiao, a convicted official's daughter, solely because a gentleman must keep his word.

He thought giving her a title and children was the most he could do for her.

It was only when another man took her away that he learned how impossible love was to understand, and how difficult it was to restrain desire.

*

Before meeting Shen Yujiao, Xie Wuling wanted nothing more than to laze around Jinling, with his wife and children gathered around the hearth.

After meeting her, he realized that being a ruffian wouldn't be enough to win the beauty he wanted.

When his little wife was taken away, he chased her for a hundred li through the rain, only managing to press the red bridal veil he had embroidered himself into her arms.

With a bruised and swollen face, he smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'll definitely steal you back."

Later, from Jinling to Chang'an, from a lowly ruffian to a high-ranking court official,

Xie Wuling spent his whole life trying to place a red bridal veil on Shen Yujiao and make her his wife in name and in truth.

**

The heroine and hero are both virgins.

Melodrama / Mary Sue / a battle royale of rival suitors

Theme: Stay strong and persevere through adversity.