Drunken Branch Pavilion

★ Upcoming series: "Startled Magpie"

Xie Wanling is the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Yu'an's household. Ever since she was a child, the thing people envied most about her was her engagement to He Langjin, the legitimate eldest son of the Duke of Dingyuan's household.

The Duke of Dingyuan's family had held high office for generations, and He Langjin was the most outstanding member of the family in a hundred years. At a young age, he led troops to pacify the western frontier, assisted the emperor, and safeguarded the prosperity of the nation. The only regrettable thing was that, since childhood, he had been betrothed to a woman from an unimpressive family, someone unworthy of him.

After their wedding, Xie Wanling devoted herself to managing the household, doing everything she could to keep things in perfect order. Since she had failed to bear a child in three years of marriage, the elders in the household made things difficult for her. They even took the major step of bringing a concubine into the household without telling her.

Fortunately, she finally conceived. She eagerly awaited the arrival of her child, but the snowy roads were slippery, and Xie Wanling took a fall, causing her to go into labor prematurely.

Even at a time like that, He Langjin, who had always been cold toward her, refused to return home and see her.

A tear slipped from the corner of Xie Wanling's eye as her consciousness slowly faded. She never expected Heaven to give her another chance and send her back to the time of her wedding.

What virtuous wife? She was done playing one!

When He Langjin saw Xie Wanling keeping her distance from him at every turn, he finally understood that she, too, had lived through this life once before.

Their marriage had been granted by the emperor, so it could not be dissolved easily.

The two signed a divorce agreement, promising to petition the emperor again in two years and ask him to permit their divorce.

He Langjin had made this choice only because he felt helpless and wanted to appease Xie Wanling.

He thought that since they were husband and wife, there was no need to part. He would treat her well and share a good life with her.

Two years later, He Langjin held their child in his arms. He had planned to take Xie Wanling on a short stay outside the capital, but instead, he saw her pull the divorce agreement she had written long ago from the very bottom of a trunk.

He Langjin pressed his palm against the child's back, his grip slowly tightening. His usual calm was gone, replaced by barely contained agitation.

He had thought they had put the past behind them. Now they even had a child, and she still wanted to leave!

P.S. A marriage first, love later; domestic life; a husband chasing his wife after marriage

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"Startled Magpie"

While carrying out the emperor's orders in the south, Wen Huiguan came across a foreign woman covered in wounds.

He had no intention of getting involved, but the woman woke up, grabbed his sleeve, and called him her savior.

Seeing the innocence in her eyes, Wen Huiguan's heart softened for a moment. He agreed to her request to disguise herself as his maid and stay by his side, giving her the name Jingque.

Wen Huiguan had never considered himself a saint. Jingque was simply too alluring, and she tempted him into breaking his own rules. He thought he would take her back to the capital and keep her by his side. Whether as a maid or a concubine, he would take responsibility for her.

When Li Qingyun woke up, she found herself facing a strange man. She did not want to die out in the wilderness, so she could only beg him to take her away.

To repay him, she offered herself to him. Though it was her first time, she found herself enjoying it immensely.

She could not read Chinese and knew she was an outsider, so when Wen Huiguan asked her to be his maid, Li Qingyun agreed without hesitation.

But when she woke up on the fourth day, she really wanted to slap herself.

She was hardly some unwanted nobody. She was the little princess of the Jinwu Kingdom, and she had run away to escape an arranged marriage. Who could have guessed she'd be so unlucky as to fall off a cliff and be found by Wen Huiguan?

Remembering what Wen Huiguan was capable of, she took another look at her purse and decided to put up with things for now.

She would endure it until she had gotten enough travel money from Wen Huiguan, then pack up and head straight home.

What a pervert! Her butt still hurt!

When Wen Huiguan learned that Jingque had run away, his fury erupted, and he ordered people to search everywhere for her.

In the end, they found nothing.

It was not until he saw a portrait of a beauty on the emperor's desk in the Imperial Study that he learned the truth.

Only then did he discover that Jingque was actually named Li Qingyun, the little princess of the Jinwu Kingdom.

He rolled his wrist and stood inside the room where Jingque had lived.

If she wouldn't behave, then he would marry her and make sure she learned her lesson.

Theme: Believe in love and grow little by little