A Qing Dynasty Romance: The Prince Rong's Princess Consort

[The only complete, authorized version online. The author loves revising, so pirated copies are incomplete and inaccurate. The author takes no responsibility for them, and piracy will be pursued. I can be pretty fierce.] [New novel: Love Story of a Qing-Dynasty Imperial Consort is now underway.]

E Yijun was born into the womb of a Qing-dynasty official, becoming the granddaughter of the minister Eertai.

At four, she entered the palace, laughing and playing behind a crowd of princes and princesses.

At six, she began living in the palace full-time, and became the candidate everyone had in mind for either the Fourth Prince's or the Fifth Prince's consort.

But in Yijun's eyes, Fourth Prince Yongcheng was always picking on her, and she couldn't stand him.

Fifth Prince Yongqi, on the other hand, always came to her rescue when Yongcheng bullied her. He taught her calligraphy and took her all over the palace to play.

As memories from her life before transmigrating gradually came into focus with age, she began to hesitate, knowing all too well how things would end.

But the boy who had once been a dashing young man would still grow into a gentle, refined gentleman, impossible to turn down.

“My grandfather never took a concubine in his life. He had only my grandmother.” In the darkness, the woman in mourning clothes had grown much thinner, her appearance all the more pitiful and endearing.

He tied the jade pendant in his hand around her waist and promised softly, “I only want you, for my whole life.”

Yijun recognized that pendant. She had wanted it ever since she was four.

The princes in the palace never lacked toys, but everyone had a favorite.

One day, when he was seven, Yongqi realized that the Huarong Pass puzzle his eldest brother had given him was missing. He searched for ages, but never found his most beloved toy.

One night after they were married, Yongqi hurried to the palace for a meeting and forgot to tell his new bride.

When he returned to their bedchamber, his graceful, elegant consort was sound asleep, leaning over the kang table, her slender jade fingers resting lightly on a few old wooden pieces.

He slowly slid the pieces out from under her hand, and a flood of strange yet familiar memories came rushing back.

Wasn't this the Huarong Pass puzzle he'd been looking for for ten years?

Before he could figure out how the thing had ended up with her, the now-awake Yijun snatched it from his hand.

She clutched “her toy” protectively, as if it were a priceless treasure. Her cheeks were flushed, either from just waking up or from guilt. “Why are you taking my things!”

Hearing the lack of conviction in her protest, Yongqi trapped her on the chaise longue and repeated unhurriedly, “Your things?”

[Reader's Guide]

1. One true pairing, one-on-one romance, childhood sweethearts, a slow and steady love story.

2. An alternate Qing dynasty. Yongqi ascends the throne, and Qianlong dies young. Many details are fictional, so please don't nitpick historical accuracy.

3. For the plot, the leads are born two years earlier than they were in real life, but their order of birth remains unchanged.

4. The heroine transmigrated into the womb. Her memories of the twenty-first century gradually become clearer over time.

Blurb first drafted on July 19, 2022, updated on January 1, 2023.

Blurb for Guan Guan Ju Jiu (Transmigration to the Qing Dynasty):

“Guan guan cry the ospreys, on the islet in the river. A fine young lady is a fitting match for a noble gentleman.”

For a long stretch of nights, Wuyouta was plagued by nightmares, to the point that she wondered whether her arrival had changed the course of history.

On the night she entered the palace, her attendant asked, “Your Highness was ill before. Should we inform the Khan and choose an auspicious day after Your Highness has recovered?”

Wuyouta looked at her reflection in the mirror. With her makeup removed, her face looked rather haggard. She shook her head. “No. They've brought me medicine three times a day for the past few days. I want to marry the Khan in grand style.”

But when the time came, with red candles flickering around them, she was still afraid.

“Lin Dan Khan died by my hand. You have nothing left to fear.” In the glow of the candles, she couldn't make out his expression.

She would hear those words, “You have nothing left to fear,” many times after that, and each time they brought her more comfort.

Even after spending half his life ruling the world with the strength of an eagle, Huang Taiji had never met a woman so singular.

He had once thought that all he wanted in life was to conquer the realm, yet in the end he fell into the old cliché that “heroes have always been powerless to resist a beautiful woman.”

Her gentle, compliant manner when they first met, her bewitching grace when she danced alone, and the bashful way she looked when they were together all tugged at his heartstrings.

On the eve of his coronation, he took her up to Phoenix Tower. Standing at its highest point, they looked out over all of Shengjing. He asked her, “What do you wish for?”

In the darkness, her foxlike eyes glimmered as she smiled sweetly. “With Your Majesty's coronation, everything will begin anew. Then let Wuyouta die for good.”

From then on, the world knew only Hailanzhu: Huang Taiji's Hailanzhu alone, a precious jade, the star who would forever stay by his side.

Reader's Guide:

1. Both leads are unattached, happy ending, with a little redemption and palace intrigue. No early death.

2. An alternate Qing dynasty, so please don't nitpick the history. Many details are fictional and differ from the official histories. Please try not to judge the heroine through a modern lens.

3. The title and the quoted line in the blurb are from the Book of Songs.

Blurb for Love Story of a Qing-Dynasty Imperial Consort:

Fu Wanran's life changed overnight, and she became Qianlong's last concubine, Noble Lady Jin, formerly Fu Wanran.

What awaited her was widowhood as a young woman, a funeral the moment she transmigrated, and an uncertain future.

In the empty hall, Wanran sat on the bed. Leaning toward Duan Weiqing, who was kneeling beside the footrest and taking her pulse, she whispered, “I'll help you rise quickly through the ranks of the Imperial Hospital. Can you find a way to get me out of the palace?”

Years later, the Imperial Consorts in Shoukang Palace, all old and past their prime, thought that Noble Consort Jin, young enough to be their granddaughter, was frail and ill-fated.

Why else would she summon the imperial physicians even more often than they did? Sometimes, when her illness became urgent, she would summon a physician at night, keeping him by her side until morning.

Duan Weiqing had never paid much attention to this audacious noble lady. He had never heard of anyone fainting at the late emperor's funeral.

That was until one day, when she reclined against a plain-colored pillow, looking haggard. He couldn't tell whether she was fully conscious when she asked him, “Is there anything fun to do outside the palace?”

As he told her about life beyond the palace walls, a hopeful light suddenly shone in her long, downcast eyes.

Duan Weiqing thought that the old-fashioned tea-colored bed curtains in the side chamber, meant for the imperial consorts, did nothing to suit her delicate, pale fingers or the blush on her cheeks, as bright as spring peach blossoms.

He had never accepted her offer. A physician's skill and experience were what mattered when traveling the world, not her help. Without relying on her, Duan Weiqing became the youngest chief physician in the Imperial Hospital.

But after seeing her weep like a pear blossom in the rain, how could he bear to leave her alone and lonely in this deep palace?

In the residence he had specially renovated for her, she asked, “You brought me out of the palace just to live in your home?”

Duan Weiqing leaned against the doorway, a head taller than her, and looked down at her. Then he drew her into his arms and softly echoed her words: “I brought you out of the palace, but that doesn't mean I'll let you go.”

All the wealth and glory in the world mean nothing to me compared to you. Every act of defiance is for your sake.

Those dreary, joyless days had only one reason for me to carry on: you.

[Reader's Guide]

1. The heroine transmigrates after Qianlong has already died. Neither before nor after her transmigration do the two have any marital relations. The age gap is over seventy years, absolutely not a typo!

2. An obscure young imperial consort and the youngest physician in the Imperial Hospital. Five-year age gap, one-on-one romance, both leads are virgins, and it's a straightforward love story. Jiaqing and his wives only appear in dialogue.

Theme: Building a brighter future together