Reborn, I Rekindled My Love with My Resentful Husband

★ Next up: New Widow (Reborn), a meek, timid heroine x a self-deluded, haughty elder brother-in-law. Blurb at the end. Please add it to your collection. ●, The Blurb, ● [Flirtatious, free-spirited princess x abstinent, jealous minister; a lofty, untouchable man falls, fully aware of it. Fundamentally a sweet, satisfying romance, the kind where the heroine wins both a man and power] * Qi Ranran is the eldest princess left behind by the late empress. Her husband, chosen through a political marriage, is a man of exceptional distinction and lofty status, someone no one dares provoke lightly. Everyone praises them as a perfect match. Yet two years into their marriage, Qi Ranran takes the initiative to ask for a divorce, stirring up a storm throughout the capital and thoroughly humiliating him. The reason she seeks a divorce is a handsome, talented scholar who placed third in the imperial examinations. But in the end, his betrayal is also what causes her plans to fail, and she perishes in a sea of flames. As her soul floats in midair, Qi Ranran unexpectedly sees her former husband, Yu Changfeng, arriving to arrange her burial. The youngest person ever to hold power in the Celestial Master Bureau, Yu Changfeng is noble and aloof, unmatched in both looks and influence. The only stain on his life is probably having a wanton wife like her, a woman who never knew how to appreciate him. Qi Ranran had thought there was no chance of reconciliation between her and Yu Changfeng, a pair of bitter enemies. Yet in the mourning hall, as she gazes at his inexplicably desolate, lonely figure, she suddenly feels an unfamiliar pang in her heart. When she opens her eyes again, Qi Ranran has returned to the time before her divorce. Just last night, she had a huge fight with Yu Changfeng over the scholar who placed third in the imperial examinations. She had even drafted the divorce papers and was only waiting to petition the emperor to amend the registers first thing the next morning. She opens the door. Yu Changfeng stands beneath the corridor in a formal robe and headdress, his expression perfectly calm, though his voice is chillingly cold. "The carriage is ready. We can divorce today." At the foot of the mountain is the scholar, dressed in wedding robes and harboring ulterior motives. Before her stands the man she is on the verge of divorcing, with their relationship in tatters after last night's fight. Remembering her past life, Qi Ranran thinks it over briefly, then boldly meets Yu Changfeng's bone-chilling, oppressive gaze with a radiant smile. "Yu Changfeng, I want to stay the night at the Celestial Master Bureau. I can't divorce you today." ...Yu Changfeng slowly raises his eyelids. Scorn floods his dark eyes in an instant. "Stay the night? Tired of being out there?" "You really think the Celestial Master Bureau is somewhere you can come and go as you please?" * But later, he is the one who clings to Qi Ranran's hand, reluctant to let go. Desire surges in the deep eyes that are usually so detached, and in a haze of passion, he kisses the corner of her lips. "Since you're here, don't leave tonight." * The scholar who placed third in the imperial examinations, Chu Chengyan, seems gentle and refined, but is actually fickle and heartless. He tells himself that all his honeyed words to Qi Ranran are false, but as the years pass, he belatedly develops genuine feelings for her. Reborn, he comes to his senses and hastily pursues her, only to be stopped at the door by the Celestial Master, the very man who should have long since fallen out of love with Qi Ranran. The man lowers his eyes. A vivid, suggestive red mark shows where his collar hangs open. When he looks down at Chu Chengyan, he regards him like an insect. "The princess is exhausted and resting. She will not see you." ●, New Widow (Reborn), ● [Meek, timid heroine x a self-deluded, haughty elder brother-in-law] * In her previous life, Wei Yulan married up into the Qi family. The day after the wedding, her husband went off to war, and six months later, news of his death arrived. Her mother-in-law, who had never liked her, blamed her for bringing bad luck and resented her for having no children. She locked Wei Yulan in the ancestral hall, where a sudden illness claimed her life. When Wei Yulan opens her eyes again, she discovers that she has been reborn on the night she consummated her marriage. Remembering the misery and despair of her final moments in her previous life, Wei Yulan weeps in fear and pleads tearfully with Qi Yuanming, "Husband, can you take me with you tomorrow?" Qi Yuanming sighs gravely. "A military expedition is no child's play, Lanlan. Don't be silly." Wei Yulan sees that the longing has not yet faded from the corners of his eyes, but impatience is already beginning to show in their depths. As she watches him, her tears gradually stop. Her husband's family is powerful, her own family indifferent. With no one to rely on, getting away and setting up a household of her own is all but impossible. In that case, she can only use the next six months to have a child with the elder brother of the main branch, who resembles Qi Yuanming by about seventy percent. Once she has a safeguard, she can settle down and live out her widowhood in peace in the secluded inner quarters. * The servants in the residence all say Wei Yulan comes from a humble background and must be easy to control, even after marrying into the Qi family. Qi Huai, however, thinks his younger brother's wife is not as simple as she seems. After the first spring rain, Qi Huai puts his theory to the test through firsthand experience. The usually dignified, cold-hearted Minister of Rites rarely takes leave. He picks out a gold hairpin and goes alone to the small courtyard of the second branch. Just then, he hears Wei Yulan's maid say excitedly, "The eldest master is handsome, talented, and virtuous, with a bright future ahead of him. Madam will finally have someone to rely on." In the next moment, his second younger brother's wife, who had wept like a songbird last night, lowers her voice and earnestly advises the maid: "What kind of decent man lets his newly widowed sister-in-law lure him into bed? We still have to rely on ourselves." ...? She made the first move, and he responded. How does that make him the bad one? Qi Huai lets out a cold laugh. Fine. His younger brother's wife really is something. * Qi Yuanming has only regretted two things in his life. First, he turned down a suitable marriage between equal families and insisted on marrying Wei Yulan, who came from a modest household. Second, he belatedly grew disgusted with his unsuitable wife, faked his death after leaving home, and tried to use his mother's hand to force her to leave him of her own accord. After that, every day of his life is filled with regret and heart-wrenching pain. Theme: Know when to cut your losses