The Female Messenger

[My historical romance, The One You Belong To (Reborn), is now available! Please add it to your reading list. Blurb at the end.]

Blurb:

Zhou Muyi had hoped to settle down as a courier at the Gusu post station, save money for a few years, then travel the world and eat her way through its delicacies. But while taking a shortcut to deliver official documents, she fell off a cliff and passed out.

When she woke, Lu Yanke, the Southern Zhili provincial censor, was accusing her of secretly opening official documents and carrying private letters. She was forced to resign.

Her already meager income had now dried up completely, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and earn a living as a courier for private letters and parcels.

Unexpectedly, her business grew and grew. Taking advantage of the excellent roads, she even opened a private courier service connecting prefectures and counties throughout Jiangnan.

What she never expected was that every step she took forward had been quietly encouraged by Lu Yanke, the man who seemed to oppose her at every turn.

But he had come to Suzhou Prefecture to reopen an old case that had once shaken the entire court.

Looking at the man seated above her, Zhou Muyi wondered how a top imperial examination graduate and the emperor's own student could sit so lazily, have such terrible manners, and always be so sharp-tongued and sickly-looking.

Lu Yanke firmly grasped the half of the gold-and-jade pendant she had handed him, but put on a look of disdain. "It doesn't look worth much."

"Censor Lu, do I really annoy you so much that you have to take it out on me every chance you get?"

"What else?"

"Lu Yanke, can you stop clinging to me?"

"You saved my life. I should keep that debt in mind at every moment and repay you day and night."

Reading guide:

1. Happy ending;

2. The romance and career plots are closely intertwined;

3. No romantic rivalry between men or women.

★

[Historical romance next door: The One You Belong To (Reborn), revenge and putting scumbags in their place, the second male lead wins the heroine's heart, a resilient, adaptable, deceptively sweet general's daughter + a suave, unruly, falsely frivolous imperial uncle]

Plot summary:

In her previous life, Fang Ruyi, the only daughter of a general guarding the frontier, followed the emperor's decree and her father's wishes and married Yuan Shi, Prince Liang. But He Ling, a merchant's daughter who wanted to become Princess Liang herself, secretly poisoned her.

She had thought Yuan Shi knew nothing, but discovered that he and He Ling had been involved for a long time.

When she refused to join their rebellion, Yuan Shi continued ordering He Ling to poison her, leaving her to linger in misery. Her once-famous beauty, celebrated throughout the capital, withered away.

After Yuan Shi ascended the throne, he framed her entire family for treason. Her father and brothers, stationed far away at the frontier, were killed when the enemy breached the city.

Reborn, she is once again an unmarried young woman on the verge of an arranged marriage.

In this life, she vows to take revenge, settle accounts with everyone who destroyed her family, and protect her father and brothers before Yuan Shi can strike.

She stays in the capital, using schemes to lay the groundwork for open plans, and open plans to shape the larger game, all so that if a storm ever breaks, she can be there for her family.

Romance summary:

Having lived a second life, Fang Ruyi knows that her marriage must be part of a plan.

She needs the support of a powerful, noble family to stand against Prince Liang.

When she first meets Jiang Yuchen, she thinks he's merely the son of a wealthy family in the capital. No matter how much she feels for him, she keeps it all inside.

Later, she learns that he is an imperial uncle of noble rank, but she still can't decide whether to love him or use him.

Only when Jiang Yuchen tells her outright, "I hate the He family too, and I can't stand that sanctimonious Prince Liang. I heard you're breaking off your engagement to him, so I figured we were kindred spirits and came to see the fun," does she realize that what he feels for her is merely friendship, not romance.

Once she sets her feelings aside, she finds it much easier to be around him when they meet again.

But one day, Jiang Yuchen confronts her with a stern expression. "I heard my great-nephew has taken a liking to you. The He family is still standing. How can you lose yourself in love?"

She sighs. "Your great-nephew just won't stop pestering me..."

"How about we pretend to be engaged and put an end to his pursuit?"

#He never believed in fate's arrangements. He only knew that when it came to love, you had to be willing to fight for it.#

1. Both leads are each other's first love, happy ending.

2. The plot is serious in direction, but the writing stays lighthearted. The romance and main plot each take up about half the story.

Theme: Even far from the halls of power, keep your country and its people in your heart