Reborn: I Won't Be Empress

Next door: My Nemesis Would Never Fall in Love! Now accepting follows: Slept with the Regent, Then Ran for My Life; Hidden Affection in the Eastern Palace

Blurb:

1: Su Ni'er and Lu Weiqing were childhood sweethearts who met in a mass grave.

Two homeless little beggars, they stole chickens one day and caught fish the next. They bowed to heaven and earth before a rock, and struggled through poverty, growing up by leaning on each other.

Later, Lu Weiqing's fortunes changed overnight. He became the Crown Prince's heir, and not long after, the emperor.

"Wife, don't be afraid. Whoever I am, I am your husband alone."

When she first entered the palace, Lu Weiqing truly treated her well.

But it didn't last. He grew busier and busier, and more and more songbirds gathered around him. Even when he watched noble ladies bully her, he stayed silent.

Su Ni'er endured it, but she couldn't bear him disregarding the affection they'd shared for years and turning into a faithless man.

She set the Hall of Mental Cultivation ablaze.

2: When she opened her eyes again, Su Ni'er had been reborn, back on a rainy night in the mass grave.

The rain poured down. A small hand covered in scars clawed its way out of the earth.

The rain washed the black grime from the face of the dying boy, revealing a handsome, youthful face.

It was ten-year-old Lu Weiqing.

In the darkness, a faint glimmer shone in Lu Weiqing's dim eyes. He parted his cracked lips and reached his bloody right hand toward Su Ni'er.

"Want me to save you?"

Seven-year-old Su Ni'er smiled at him. When he nodded, she grinned, grabbed the shovel beside her, and slammed it hard into Lu Weiqing's head.

3: Lu Weiqing encountered a madwoman who tormented him in every way.

She forced him to beg in the street and do the washing and cooking. She even sold him to a male brothel for spending money... He hated her to the core!

He swore that once he grew up and returned to the palace, he would cut that woman into a thousand pieces!

Unfortunately, before he could act, the madwoman died of an illness.

Fine. Throw her corpse into the mass grave!

Right, the mass grave, where they'd met as children.

But on the day of his enthronement, he remembered his previous life.

No one knew how long Lu Weiqing, dressed in his bright yellow imperial robes, searched the mass grave on that rainy night.

PS:

1: Childhood sweethearts, turned into a chase-your-wife-to-the-crematorium story. Only the heroine is reborn; the hero regains his memories later.

2: The heroine fakes her death.

****Now accepting follows: Heaven-Sent Delight****

1: Su Yan woke up and stared dazedly at the handsome, fair-skinned man lying beside her. After a long moment, she raised her hand and slapped him.

But the man caught her wrist with ease.

He rolled lazily onto his back, turned away from her, and without even opening his eyes, shook off her hand and flicked his fingertips dismissively.

Golden light streamed through the festive mosquito net, illuminating the red wedding quilt, the red mandarin-duck pillows... and the bright red wedding gown hanging from a rack nearby.

Su Yan: "You... are my husband?"

The man abruptly sat up, narrowed his long eyes, studied her face from side to side, then suddenly smiled.

"You have a good eye, my lady."

2: Su Yan is the Taifu's daughter, fair-skinned and beautiful, with dazzling talent. She is the aloof, highborn beauty every man in the capital longs for but cannot have.

Yet one particular man thinks she's a pretentious snob who puts on airs.

Lu Xingzhi is the son of the Duke of Dingguo. He's earned distinction on the battlefield and is a peerless martial artist, a famous young general.

Yet one particular woman despises him as an uncultured brute who knows nothing but how to wave a spear around.

As it happens, their families are old friends, and their parents force them into marriage.

On the eve of their wedding, they agree to a sham marriage. Afterward, they'll act like a devoted couple in public, while each goes their own way in private.

But the day after the wedding, Su Yan loses her memory.

3: Months later, Su Yan regains her memory, her body covered in shameful red marks.

Remembering all his deceit over the past few months, and his wild, domineering entanglement with her last night... She calmly picks up a dagger.

Just then, Lu Xingzhi walks in from outside. The courtyard behind him is piled high with gold, silver, and countless other treasures.

"My lady, here are the Lu family's property deeds, shops near the imperial city, fertile farmland in the suburbs, and a master's handwritten inscription from the Ancient Cicada Monastery... Oh, and I've secured you an honorific title as a Lady of the Imperial Mandate, second rank."

"If the rank isn't high enough for you, my dear, I'll work a little harder and see what I can do."

Su Yan quickly hides the dagger behind her back.

She thinks it over. Perhaps she can... keep pretending a little longer.

***Now accepting follows: Unmatched Favor***

1:

The Ninth Princess has exchanged love letters with a young gentleman for years. They have pledged their hearts to each other and agreed to meet at the Regent's birthday banquet. But instead, she sees him pick up a noblewoman's handkerchief and chase her behind a rockery.

The Ninth Princess witnesses it with her own eyes and is overcome with grief, tears streaming down her face.

A handkerchief is offered to her. It's the Regent. "You like this type?"

The young gentleman nearby is gentle and refined, the sort of scholar young women adore.

She doesn't want to admit it. But when she looks up, she meets the Regent's assessing gaze.

Unlike the young gentleman, the Regent is broad-shouldered, silent, imposing, and terrifying.

She bursts into tears, frightened by him, and stammers, "...I like him! I really do!"

The Regent's eyes immediately dim.

2:

She sees the young gentleman again at his wedding. A handsome groom and a beautiful bride, but the bride isn't her.

The Ninth Princess can't help feeling dejected. The Regent, who came with her, is even more miserable, draining cup after cup of wine.

Ninth Princess: "Stop drinking. Looks aren't what matter most. If the bride doesn't like you, it's her loss."

The Regent says nothing for a long time, only gazing at her through narrowed eyes. At last, he sets down his wine cup and says seriously,

"I want to get married. To you."

The Ninth Princess hurriedly looks away and sits up straight. "We agreed. We're only pretending... to make them jealous. We won't, we won't make it real."

The Regent smiles. "Why not give it a try?"

3:

Years after their wedding, a friend asks the Regent for advice on how to win the delicate Ninth Princess's heart.

The Regent laughs and says young women are proud. Without a comparison, how could they appreciate the charms of an older man?

Then he carefully puts away the letters he's kept in a cabinet and takes out a delicate mandarin-duck sachet to admire. She had embroidered it by hand for her "young gentleman" years ago.

She always was rather blind.

Theme: Clearing up misunderstandings and overcoming emotional barriers