Pursuing the General

[Male Lead Reborn] X [Female Lead's Perspective]

An unconventional rebirth story

[Black Lotus, Mad Dog Male Lead] X [Stainless-Steel, Super-Straight Female Lead]

[Both leads are virgins and have only been with each other; HE]

[Alternate history, very loosely based on reality]

[The leads belong to opposing sides, but in the end they overcome immense pressure and join forces to fight a natural disaster]

A

Ming Wei, the great general of the Tan Yuan Kingdom, wears golden armor that covers his face. He is undefeated in battle.

Everyone knows how utterly ruthless he is. In seven years, he conquered six kingdoms, slaughtered the royal clans, and tortured prisoners. Now only the small kingdom of Wen Hua remains, and once it falls, Tan Yuan will rule the world.

Then one day, he ran off with a woman.

She had graceful, delicate features, a pretty face like flowers in full bloom in spring, and the beauty of youth. Her temperament was cold as steel, bringing to mind Qiu Xiaoman, the female general who guards the border of tiny Wen Hua.

People assumed Ming Wei was biding his time, and no one dared ask what had happened.

But before long, Ming Wei was dumped, and somehow ended up badly injured.

AA

In his previous life, Qiu Xiaoman died in Ming Wei's arms. Her face was drenched in blood, yet she stubbornly insisted on treating him as her enemy.

Reborn, Ming Wei does everything in his power to prevent the tragedy from happening again, but he still cannot shake Qiu Xiaoman's love for her country.

She dumps him once more, leaving him to be hacked down by his enemies.

Ming Wei has no choice but to burn his boats and enter the small kingdom alone, knowing he could die at any moment.

Amid the rumors about Ming Wei's cruelty, Qiu Xiaoman asks him nervously, "What are you doing here?!"

Ming Wei points at the stars and says with utmost humility, "They're about to fall. How about you consider believing me, just this once?"

AAA

To prove his sincerity, Ming Wei lays his heart bare and tells her every one of his secrets.

He leans down, gazes at Qiu Xiaoman tenderly, and complains softly, "Is it really so hard to say you like me?"

Qiu Xiaoman hesitates. "If you were still the mute boy you used to be, I might take you in as my pet."

Ming Wei protests, "I'm much better than a mute!"

Qiu Xiaoman asks, "Like what?"

Ming Wei says, "If you can't sleep, General, I can hum you a little tune."

[Next story coming soon: historical romance The Snow Clears, Spring Arrives. Please add it to your collection. Thank you ^, ^]

Highlights:

[Both leads are virgins and have only been with each other]

[No substitute bride, no revenge]

[The main story is about family supporting one another, not just romance]

Thank you for reading. Please add it to your collection!

Zhan Yanru is a girl whose father doesn't want her and whose mother doesn't love her.

Yet, while she is still naive and inexperienced, she meets a refined young gentleman who is willing to treat her like a princess. She knows little about him, only that his name is Zheng Jingcheng, and that he is disciplined, courteous, and unstained by the world.

She sees him as a clear stream flowing down a snowy mountain, untouched by dust. He is also like a solitary crane in the heavens, bright as the moon, beautiful but out of reach.

But the day Zheng Jingcheng sends her his marriage proposal, she wounds him deeply.

That year, she is sixteen and he is nineteen.

She is preparing to marry.

He is embarking on an official career.

-

Years later, Zheng Jingcheng is a high-ranking official and a favored rising star in the emperor's eyes.

Yet he has no interest in marriage. Even when the emperor arranges a match for him, he treats it as a mere formality.

On the second day of his wedding, he firmly tells his parents, "Once the wedding period is over, I will divorce my new wife on the grounds that we have no children."

His parents try to talk him out of it, but to no avail, and eventually agree to his decision.

But as soon as the words are out, his bride enters. His heart, as unyielding as stone, suddenly jolts, and he drops his teacup.

A man who has never known defeat suddenly loses his usual composure.

He never dreamed that his bride would be the very person he had not even dared to dream of!

-

The two tacitly agree to keep their distance.

But gradually, Zheng Jingcheng is caught off guard when Zhan Yanru confesses to him, then secretly flirts with him in the middle of the night.

She draws close, then pulls away, making the long-sealed heart of this upright gentleman sway and stumble.

Until one day, Zheng Jingcheng sees his wife release a lovers' lantern with another man, while his parents excitedly tell him that the emperor has approved their divorce.

That night, a dim candlelight flickers in Zhan Yanru's room.

She slips off her silk undergarment and reaches for a thick cloak on the rack, ready to go out.

Hearing the beads behind her jingle, she turns serious and tells her maid, "Go ask whether my husband is asleep. I want to borrow half an incense stick's worth of his time."

The maid doesn't answer. Instead, footsteps draw near, and a man's voice suddenly comes from behind her.

"Then may I borrow a whole night from my wife?"

She turns in shock. The upright gentleman is already right before her.

H-he actually sneaked into her room in the middle of the night!

(Not a substitute-bride plot. Romance and plot are equally important. Content warnings are at the end of Chapter 1.)

Theme: Nothing matters more than life and death