After Marrying Into the Grasslands

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Blurb:

[Clear-headed, rational beauty from the Central Plains × dark, rugged Khan, king of the wolves]

[Size difference, coercive possession, a battlefield of male rivals, he pursues while she runs]

Si Lu was the most beautiful woman in the Central Plains. When her family fell into ruin, she was forced to marry into the grasslands as a political bride.

The Northern Rong royal court had endured nine generations. The tribes schemed against one another without end, and the aging Khan had seven sons, all eyeing his throne.

On the first day Si Lu arrived at court, she entered the hall in a flowing Han-style gown and astonished every prince with her beauty. From then on, the name of the Central Plains goddess spread across the grasslands.

Later, the old Khan died suddenly for no apparent reason. The court was left without a leader, and the tribes fought to seize power.

Si Lu became the Central Plains jewel everyone coveted.

Amid this chaos, Si Lu was constantly plotting her escape back to the Central Plains.

But just after escaping the city, she fell into the hands of a rebel tribe. The chieftain saw her as a goddess sent from heaven and, without a word, carried her into the woods, intending to violate her. Si Lu struggled in vain and sank into despair, only to see a cold arrow pierce the chieftain's chest.

As the chieftain fell, Si Lu saw a man seated on horseback in the distance.

He wore barbarian garb, his chest and arms bare. His powerful, muscular frame was like a mountain. He held an iron bow, and his handsome features were deep-set, like a god surveying the world from above.

He looked at her with a smile, his gaze openly possessive and predatory:

"Goddess of the Central Plains, I've been looking everywhere for you."

Si Lu recognized him: the fifth prince of the Northern Rong court, also known as the Wolf King of the Grasslands, Huyan Haimo.

He dismounted and walked toward her step by step, his towering frame pressing down on her.

"I am the new king. According to Northern Rong custom, I can inherit everything from the previous king."

He spoke slowly in the language of the Central Plains:

"That includes you."

[The heroine is clever and resilient. He pursues, she runs; he must win her back. One-on-one pairing.]

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[Both are reborn, he must win her back, brothers compete for the same woman, feel-good romance]

When Su Su finally stumbled onto the city wall, she felt neither sorrow nor joy.

She had wanted to gaze out at the countless lights in the city, as she used to, but realized she had long been blind. She couldn't see a thing.

Looking back on the past, she let out a bitter sigh. It was time to end things.

She slowly took off her ceremonial empress's robe and removed her phoenix crown and court beads.

The coronation ceremony would take place at dawn. The maids had dressed her in advance.

Back then, she had married the powerless third prince, Xiao Cheng'an, without hesitation, and stayed by his side as he rose from obscurity to the imperial throne. She had given him everything, yet this was how it ended.

Her family scattered, her child lost, her eyesight gone.

Snow began to fall. Su Su heard the emperor rushing toward her from below the city tower.

"Su Su, what are you doing? Come down!"

Su Su curved her lips into a smile. Her plain sleeves fluttered, and the ribbon tied over her eyes streamed in the wind like a broken butterfly.

"Xiao Cheng'an, I have nothing left. The only thing I can give to the Cui family now is this position as empress."

"Su Su, I order you to come down!" The young emperor ran desperately up the tower, terror filling his eyes. His jade crown had fallen to the ground, his hair had come loose, and his voice changed from a command to a plea. "Please, come down..."

But the woman did not do as he wished.

On that snowy night, she spread her arms and leaped from the tower before his eyes, saying:

"Xiao Cheng'an, protect my family."

*

When Su Su opened her eyes again, she had returned to the year she came of age.

At the spring banquet in the third month, flowers bloomed everywhere, and young gentlemen eager to catch a glimpse of her beauty practically broke down the gates of the duke's estate.

Everywhere she looked were handsome young men.

Truly, a riot of flowers that could dazzle the eye.

The most striking of them were the twin princes:

The third prince, Xiao Cheng'an, was a gentleman as refined as jade, peerlessly elegant, learned in statecraft and gifted in governance, able to win victories a thousand miles away.

The fifth prince, Xiao Chengli, was handsome and tall, full of youthful spirit, a match for three armies and able to turn the tide of the world from horseback.

Both were powerful figures at court and dearly loved by the emperor. Emperor Yuanzhen once said:

"Cheng'an excels in letters, Chengli in arms; together, they can bring peace to the realm."

Snap, the kite string broke, and her thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

She looked up and saw Xiao Cheng'an, dressed in a plain ink-wash robe with wide sleeves and a sash, spotless and elegant, picking up the kite among the shadows of the trees. His gentle, picture-perfect features were turned toward her in a smile.

It was as if everything were happening all over again in another life.

Su Su lifted her skirt and ran toward him, but when Xiao Cheng'an smiled, she passed right by him and stopped in front of Xiao Chengli, who stood behind him. She raised her face to the tall boy and called softly:

"Brother Chengli."

Xiao Cheng'an's smile froze on his lips, and darkness began to deepen in his eyes.

It was as if she hadn't even looked him in the eye.

[The heroine jumps from a tower at the start and is reborn. The male lead is reborn later and begins pursuing her. He is scheming and calculating, with some coercive behavior early on.]

Theme: Perseverance.