Please add this to your reading list. I hope to reach completion status soon.
Coming soon: The Noble Consort Is So Charming
[Warlord of a Chaotic Age vs. Widowed Noblewoman with a Child]
In the sixth year of Yuan Zhen, under Emperor Yongshun.
Zhao Zongkai launched a campaign in the northwest, sweeping across the north with tens of thousands of troops, poised to strike.
That year, natural and man-made disasters came one after another. Rebels seized prefectures and counties, famine spread, bandits rose up, ambitious warlords emerged, the land was shattered, and the people were plunged into misery.
The Great Yong dynasty teetered on the brink.
That year, Zhou Songyi took her child home to visit her family. While passing through Hezhong, she encountered Zhao Zongkai.
*
The Zhou clan of Ruzhou was a distinguished family with a history stretching back a century. Its women were renowned beauties, and the women of the Sixth Branch were considered the loveliest of all.
Years earlier, the Zhou clan had formed a marriage alliance with the Lu clan of Wujun. The beauty of their women spread across the realm, and one peerless beauty in particular was unforgettable.
When Zhao Zongkai made his third march on the capital, he passed through Hezhong.
Hezhong had once been prosperous, its people numerous. Now, white bones lay exposed in the wilderness, and not a rooster crowed for a thousand li. It was a heartbreaking sight.
Then he saw a woman surrounded by attendants and adorned in jewels, impossible to miss.
He sent someone to ask who she was. The answer came: She was a daughter of the Zhou clan, newly widowed and returning home to Ruzhou.
Zhao Zongkai looked around at his men. "I've heard that the Zhou girl is peerlessly beautiful, the loveliest of her age. She is still young. Can I see her now?"
*
In the northwest, the northern winds were fierce and the people were rugged, utterly unlike those of Ruzhou and Liangzhou. Zhou Songyi felt uneasy wherever she went.
At first sight, what drew Zhou Songyi to Zhao Zongkai was the confidence and vigor in his features. He was steeped in the aura of battle, his sharp eyes fixed on her like a predator watching its prey, full of aggression.
Zhou Songyi knew he had killed many people. He was nothing like her late husband, who had taken her on outings and shared poetry and books with her.
The History of Jin, Annals of Emperor Taizu, records: "In the sixth year of Yuan Zhen, the emperor met the Noble Consort in Hezhong. As he smiled by the riverbank, he remembered his dream from youth. In the depths of winter, he welcomed the consort to Linru."
Note: Neither lead is a virgin. This is a story of taking by force.
[Story Blurb]
Synopsis: Liang Zhixia transmigrates into a book, a campus novel, as the male lead's doomed older sister.
In the original story, the original owner was beautiful and fair-skinned, but spoiled and malicious, constantly bullying the poor male lead.
This included, but was not limited to, deliberately restricting his allowance so he went to school hungry, hiring people to beat him, and making his life difficult in all sorts of ways...
After enduring humiliation for years, the male lead eventually became a billionaire tycoon. The original owner paid the price for her actions, ending up on the streets with her parents.
Liang Zhixia: ...
Just as Liang Zhixia was getting ready to make a fresh start, she transmigrated again...
She looks at the male lead, who barely reaches the height of the table, and falls into thought. Wait, is there still time to treat him well?
*
After Zhou Guican's parents died in a car accident, his relatives passed him around like a ball, none of them willing to raise him. Only the Liang couple agreed to take him home.
When he first arrived at the Liang home, Zhou Guican thought everything was black. Then he saw a dazzling light. Watching Liang Zhixia surrounded by everyone, Zhou Guican fell in love with her.
He wanted to get closer to the light.
But the more Zhou Guican tried to win her favor, the more Liang Zhixia disliked him. Little by little, Zhou Guican learned to ignore her.
After all, everything he treasured would leave him. Better to have nothing from the very beginning.
But Zhou Guican never imagined that one day he would see compassion and kindness in Liang Zhixia's eyes.
P.S. No romantic feelings are depicted while they are still related by marriage.
Theme: I think youth must hold a time like this, one that is remembered and cherished with deep affection.
