The Lady Ruler Took Her Own Life Before the City Walls

Yuan Tangyu is granted Yucheng as her fief by virtue of being the late emperor's legitimate daughter. But she is too gentle and kind-hearted, like duckweed drifting on the water in troubled times, liable to be crushed at any moment. She does her best, never expecting that after she takes a break one day and falls asleep beneath a crabapple tree, everyone close to her will treat her differently when she wakes. Her cousin, in charge of the city's defenses, has never complained of pain, even when badly wounded. Now he punches the crabapple tree, sending blossoms raining down, while tears stream heavily from his eyes. Her half-sister, the emperor's daughter, is spoiled and loves to pick fights with her. But now she runs into Yuan Tangyu's arms, clutches her around the waist, and apologizes again and again through her tears. Yuan Tangyu assumes her sister has gotten into trouble again. She gently pats her back and promises to help handle it, then looks up and asks her cousin if something is troubling him. Before she can get an answer, the two strategists she recruited also barge into her courtyard, eyes red, and beg her to train troops and build up her strength. Yuan Tangyu is dazed for a moment, wondering if she is still dreaming, unaware that everyone before her has just awakened from a nightmare. In her previous life, the one who united the realm was neither of Yuan Tangyu's elder brothers, but a man who had once been nameless. His army was undefeated in battle. In just three years, he crushed both of Yuan Tangyu's elder brothers and brought his forces to the gates of Yucheng. Yucheng had no power to fight back. Their ruler, a woman, carried out the surrender papers and took her own life outside the city, ensuring everyone else would be spared. Not wanting this tragedy to happen again, everyone urges their ruler to recruit troops and defend herself. Yuan Tangyu, unaware of what they know, perfunctorily posts a recruitment notice in Yucheng. To her surprise, a thousand-strong troop arrives to answer it. Yuan Tangyu reluctantly makes time to meet their leader and asks what he hopes to gain by pledging his loyalty. He takes her hand and places a gentle kiss on it, calling her by a pet name she has never told him: "Zhenzhen, I want you." Before he was reborn, Jing Zhiming unified the realm and ascended the throne, yet every night he dreamed of the woman ruler in white, calmly taking her own life in the snow. His heart was both moved and aching. He was only good at warfare. One day, he happened to open the notes the woman ruler left behind, and only then realized how astonishingly talented she had been. She knew everything except military affairs. If women could inherit the throne, she would be the most suitable candidate. Jing Zhiming regarded her as his teacher, his friend, and the one he loved. Even after she died, his feelings for her only grew deeper. Then one day, he woke to find himself back at the moment he had just raised his army, and immediately rushed to her city of Yucheng. He would make her emperor and take her as his wife. Cover artist: Qing Changzui, used with permission Upcoming novel: The Tragic Novel Heroine Has Been Replaced (Quick Transmigration) No matter what advantages the heroine of a tragic romance may have, she must suffer physical and emotional abuse, and ultimately find happiness through love. Yan Jingshu considers this unreasonable, so she is assigned to become those heroines. World One: Empress Dowager The emperor's harem is full of scheming consorts. The heroine, as empress, is distrusted because of her father and brothers' influence at court, and suspected of being unfaithful because a prince of the current dynasty loves her. Her palace has effectively become a cold palace, where she can only survive on scraps with her frail son. When Yan Jingshu transmigrates into the story, the body has already been rendered infertile by the consorts' schemes and is nearly at death's door. She struggles to her feet, opens the window to let moonlight into the room, and addresses the prince secretly waiting behind a tree, devoted to her: "Being empress is too hard. I want to be empress dowager. Can you help me?" After her son ascends the throne, the empress dowager, ruling from behind the curtain, arranges to "poison" the prince. The realm loses a great general and gains a beloved pet of the empress dowager. "I understand your devotion now, but there can only be one person in charge. You'll have to put up with being my pet, and I'll repay you with my undivided love." World Two: Assassin The heroine is the heir apparent's personal shadow guard, trained by him since childhood. They grew up close, but he only wants to drain her of every last bit of value, exploiting her devotion to put her in mortal danger time and again. Yan Jingshu opens her eyes to find her short sword at the national preceptor's throat, with the guards of his residence surrounding them. She taps his cheek with the cold blade. "Want to stay alive? The person who hired me to kill you hasn't paid. Offer me more, and I'll kill him for you instead." She establishes the Soul-Reaping House, where you pay up front and get a life in return. The leisurely proprietor rolls the national preceptor out in his wheelchair to enjoy the sunshine. She runs a finger over his lips. He bites it and draws blood, so she uses that brilliant red to replace the pallor of his lips. "The court is too high and mighty for someone as lofty as the national preceptor. Why not come with me to the far reaches of the jianghu? Anyone you want dead will die at your word. All you have to do is give me one kiss as a deposit. Deal?" World Three: Queen World Four: Captain One-on-one romance, with a fragmented male lead The Paranoid General Was Once a Slave Xiao Shen, the runaway slave once kept outside her tent by the treacherous minister's daughter Jiang Wangluan, has returned. She has fallen into ruin, an orphan with nothing, while the slave she used to beat now sits in the palace and wields immense power as the exalted General Weiyi. Everyone knows Xiao Shen hates Jiang Wangluan. He moved into the Jiang residence and put Jiang Wangluan under house arrest to find the most suitable way to avenge the humiliations he suffered at the hands of this vicious, foolish noblewoman. So those who hate her too are waiting to see her cast into the mud, her arrogant spirit finally broken. But the first time Jiang Wangluan sees Xiao Shen, she understands that he still loves her. Even if he grits his teeth and wants to bite off a piece of her, at most he'll leave a tooth mark, then reluctantly lick the trace he left behind. She can still seize the initiative and use him to deal with her other enemies. Even if she has to endure humiliation for a while, it doesn't matter. * Late at night, she knocks on Xiao Shen's door. The young man, wiping his sharp sword in the lamplight, looks up at her coldly. His strong features still bear traces of the familiar face she remembers. She bends her knees and lowers her head, swallowing her resentment as she begs him to protect her. Xiao Shen sees right through her and lets out a low laugh. His former master is still foolish. So much time has passed. He is no longer the innocent boy who could be satisfied by one of her smiles. Now that she's come to him of her own accord, does she really know how to satisfy his desires? A moment later, he hears the voice that still curses him even in his dreams, as soft as a flower petal falling to the ground: "Master." Jiang Wangluan comes in wearing a thin undergarment and offers him her pale wrists. Beneath her snow-white skin, faint blue veins spread like branches in the cold, fragile and innocent, as Xiao Shen takes her hand. Jiang Wangluan gazes at him with deep, distant eyes and lets him do as he pleases. Perhaps she can't beat anyone else, but she has never once failed when it comes to manipulating Xiao Shen. Theme: Everyone has something they excel at