An Old Friend Returns from Afar

Yan Nuo grew up surrounded by love. When she came of age, her father arranged her engagement to Pei Yan, her childhood sweetheart. At the time, Pei Yan was still the Sixth Prince. Later, a palace upheaval changed everything. The Crown Prince rebelled and was deposed, and with the Chancellor's support, Pei Yan took up residence in the Eastern Palace and became the Crown Prince. Just as Yan Nuo eagerly awaited Pei Yan's marriage proposal, the Chancellor's daughter became the Crown Princess instead. On the day of the wedding, Pei Yan came to see Yan Nuo in private. He told her that marrying the Chancellor's daughter was unavoidable, and that once he inherited the throne, he would make her Empress. Yan Nuo believed him. * Pei Yan ascended the throne without a hitch. Yan Nuo never received the crown of Empress. Instead, she received an imperial edict betrothing her to Gu Xingyuan, a young Vice Minister of Rites. Gu Xingyuan was a gentleman. Knowing she was unwilling, he treated her with respect and protected her. In their three years of marriage, he never once overstepped his bounds. * Three years later, Pei Yan accused the Yan family of secretly conspiring with the deposed Crown Prince and exiled Yan Nuo's father and two elder brothers. Her sister-in-law was driven to hang herself. Under the wrath of the Emperor, the entire court fell silent with fear. Only Gu Xingyuan dared risk his life to speak up for the Yan family. For this, he was demoted, and assassins killed him on his way to take up his new post. * On the day the news arrived, Yan Nuo was knocked unconscious by men in black. When she awoke, she found herself in the imperial palace. Pei Yan's eyes were red, and his voice hoarse. "Yan Nuo, don't blame me. From now on, let's start over, all right?" Yan Nuo looked at him without saying a word. * Three months later, Zhiwu Palace, the one closest to the Imperial Study, caught fire. The wind fanned the flames until they had burned nearly half the palace. A eunuch reported that Yan Nuo had perished in the fire. When Pei Yan heard the news, he fell gravely ill. * But Yan Nuo awoke, her body covered in scars and her disfigurement hidden from the world, and returned to ten years earlier. Ten years earlier, she had been the pampered young lady doted on by all. Ten years later, the battered version of her and her younger self now existed in the same timeline. That year, she was not yet engaged to Pei Yan, and her father, brothers, and sister-in-law were all still alive. Gu Xingyuan was still a spirited young man. Wrapped in a black cloak, she knocked on the Yan residence's gate. "I'm looking for the Third Miss, Yan Nuo." [Note] [Highlight] This is not a revenge power fantasy. Court politics and intrigue are the main focus. [The female lead transmigrates, returning to ten years earlier and existing in the same timeline as her younger self.] [Since the previous point involves transmigration, this is categorized as historical transmigration. Everyone else is a native of this world; no one else has transmigrated.] [The dynasty is fictional, and official titles are a bit of everything.] [Ignore revision notices. The author will occasionally go back to fix typos, but the plot will not change.] [Updates usually come around midnight. You don't have to stay up waiting, dear readers. Just read it when you wake up the next day.] [Happy ending] Wishing you a happy reading! -----Coming Soon----- "Lighting the Way for the Chief Councillor" Su Xianjin transmigrated into a book. She entered a classic male-oriented power fantasy: the male lead's family is destroyed by the villain, but he survives against all odds, plots his way forward step by step, and eventually kills the villain and ascends the throne. The villain, Cheng Yun, is the youngest Chief Councillor in the Northern Dynasty. He blocks the channels for frank advice, manipulates the foolish Emperor, monopolizes power, and kills loyal ministers. Everyone wants him dead. In the finale, the male lead drives a sword into Cheng Yun's heart in front of the assembled court and the common people. The onlookers erupt in thunderous cheers. Su Xianjin was perfectly satisfied with this ending, if not for having read the extra chapters: The so-called villainous minister in power was merely a martyr, walking alone through the lonely night with a torch in hand. Cheng Yun had lost all hope for the corrupt Northern Dynasty. Without wearing a mask, he could not exploit the domineering elders' influence; without occupying a high position, he would have no sword with which to cut down the corrupt imperial relatives. Only by rising to The Outcast, beneath one person and above ten thousand, could he guide the new Emperor to burn away his own failing body and pave the way for a clear and prosperous age. She was curious: would someone surrounded by darkness be afraid of it? Then one night, she opened her eyes and found herself standing before a secret chamber. She entered with a lantern, and found herself living the life in the book. By the light of a dim candle, the Chief Councillor who held all the power in the realm pressed a carving knife into his own flesh. His face was as pale as paper, and cold sweat poured down his brow. He was atoning for his sins, then setting off alone once more, bearing those scars. * Su Xianjin approached with her lantern, illuminating the darkness. Beneath its light, the young woman was gentle and pure as a deity. "Cheng Yun." Calling his name, she finally rescued him from hell. An optimistic, cheerful, healing female lead x a cool-headed, ruthless male lead who is a powerful minister "The Female Official and the Bandit" The county yamen in Chuyi County had been empty for eight years. After the previous two magistrates had met their ends, one murdered and the other dead of illness, the court had sent no one to replace them. Chuyi County was remote, its people fierce, and bandits rampant. Even if the court wanted to govern it, it was too far away to do anything. Then, this year, a female magistrate suddenly arrived. Two unkempt constables squatted outside the dilapidated county yamen. "Can women really be officials?" "The court passed the rule years ago, but only a few women have ever become officials. Now they've sent one here." "What would a woman want with a place like this?" "To get herself killed." "That's a shame." - Everyone said Chuyi County was beyond saving. The friends who saw her off looked at her with pity, as if they could already see that she would never return. Sure enough, Lin Yijun ran into trouble on her very first day in office. The only road into the county was blocked by bandits, who slung broad-bladed swords over their shoulders, glared viciously, and shouted for her to hand over her money. Lin Yijun glanced up at the sky, rolled up her sleeves, and a moment later walked into town again with her luggage on her back. The bandits trembled like leaves in the wind. Clutching their crotches, they wept and dared not say a word. - They said a fearsome female magistrate had come to Chuyi County. She looked like a little white rabbit, but was really a tiger. But Zhou Zhaonan, young master of Gray Snake Mountain, the largest bandit group in Chuyi County, refused to believe it. "I'll see just how fearsome a woman can be!" Later, the young master returned with a bruised face, gritting his teeth. "That's too much! You can hit someone anywhere but the face!" A black-bellied female lead with the strongest martial arts x a clever young bandit who is both hopeless and eager to fight, but still not as clever as the female lead Theme: Cherish your life.