The Golden Branch Falls

Princess Lu Ni is noble and distinguished, cool and otherworldly, the ideal woman in the eyes of the sons of the great families. But she has a secret no one knows...

Three years ago, someone drugged her. She spent a night with a country boy, then tried and failed to have him killed afterward.

Emperor Zhengxi had left the empress's seat vacant for years. One day, he suddenly died. In the palace, Noble Consort Ji joined forces with the powerful Ji clan to forge an imperial edict and usurp the succession, installing the First Prince on the throne. As regent, she gave the princess two choices:

Marry into Northern Yan, or wed into the Ji family.

Fate played a cruel trick on Lu Ni. The new head of the Ji family whom she was to marry was the illegitimate son she had nearly died alongside that day.

**

At Ji Yizhou's most difficult and desperate moment, Heaven bestowed a ray of moonlight upon him. Only after they had made love did he learn that the bright moon was black as ink, and that a golden hairpin driven into his heart would leave him in agony to his very bones, a pain he would never forget.

In just two years, he rose from nobody to a man commanding the military forces around the capital. A rumor spread through the city: Commander Ji was born rebellious, destined to kill his kin and turn on his master.

The once-humble illegitimate son rose to high office and seized power over the court, while the noble princess fell into the dust. Her body and heart were his, and he claimed them inch by inch.

Yet at some point, this possessiveness changed into something else. Or perhaps, once he had become attached to her, he could never break free.

Reader's guide:

One: One-on-one, both leads are each other's first, happy ending. The romance develops slowly at first.

Two: The government system is modeled on the Han dynasty, with some original elements. This is an alternate history, so please don't fact-check it.

Upcoming story

"After Being Reborn, I Chose the Enemy Nation's Crown Prince"

Yu You is the only little princess in the Jiankang Palace. It is said she has a gift for seeing the truth, and anyone who wins her favor is sure to rise to success. Countless brilliant young men vie for her attention.

In her previous life, she remained unmarried at twenty. After helping her elder brother secure his throne, she was repaid by being discarded once she was no longer useful.

She died violently in the river. Her body sank to the bottom of the lake, where it lay unrotting for seven days. She became a spirit and watched with her own eyes as Jinling fell and her homeland vanished in smoke.

The one who ignited the flames of war and led his troops into Jiankang Palace was the Crown Prince Qin Chang, later known as the God of War of Northern Qi.

When she opened her eyes again, Yu You had returned to the day of her coming-of-age ceremony. The country's finest young men had gathered for the matchmaking banquet. This time, she gladly accepted Qin Chang's marriage proposal and left with the man who would one day destroy her country.

Northern Qi's ministers: The crown prince spent half the treasury to bring home a little tyrant.

Qin Chang agreed: This little handful really is hard to raise.

Northern Qi is cold and poor, and northern men don't like to bathe. Yu You was thoroughly disgusted.

As time went by, though, she found one thing to like: the men of the north were brave and vigorous...

She was lost in the passion of their wedding nights, while hoping he would soon lead his army toward Jinling and send her homeland and her brother up in flames.

Northern Qi's ministers were devastated: The crown prince has changed.

He used to be wise and capable. Now he keeps meddling in his ministers' family affairs, making their children kneel in the ancestral hall or copy the family rules at the drop of a hat.

He used to be a fearless warrior. Now he even takes his wife along to war.

The Crown Princess... could she be some kind of wicked concubine?

The Crown Princess of Northern Qi became famous throughout the land. The brilliant young men of old came to seek her favor, bringing their families along. Qin Chang busied himself training troops and had to keep a tight watch to make sure his rivals had no chance to take advantage.

Meanwhile, the once-flourishing banks of the Qinhuai River had rotted to their core, like an anthill. The foreign cavalry swept south, Jinling fell, and her homeland vanished in smoke...

Yu You looked at Qin Chang with suspicion. So in her previous life... who had destroyed the country?

One-on-one, both leads are each other's first. The female lead is reborn; this is an alternate history, so don't fact-check it.

Mostly about married life, sweet and satisfying.

A beloved princess is reborn and just wants to lie flat x a jealous, fiercely devoted hound of a crown prince, building his career and guarding against fire, theft, and romantic rivals

Theme: Learn to understand and respect one another