Lone Smoke Rising Straight in the Great Desert

New novel now available: A Maiden's First Love

(New novel blurb)

Scheming, sinister young nobleman x charming, clever fox spirit

The noble young ladies of the capital are refined and well-mannered. She is a wild fox who grew up deep in the mountains.

The princes of the capital are all granted titles and official posts. He is merely a county deputy, and does not even know who his birth mother is.

"The treacherous city of Chang'an has no place for the useless. Those who come here either bleed until they become exceptional, or have their ashes scattered and blown away like dust."

Whoosh, the wind rose.

"What kind of person do you want to become, miss?"

That was the first thing Li Yingzhan said when he met Ruan Xiang.

He was sinister and ruthless, yet aloof from the world, clear-minded and self-controlled. He was like the cold wind sweeping down the north side of Vermilion Bird Avenue in December, dazzling to the eye.

At the time, she had just been thrown out by her childhood sweetheart like a stray dog. Nothing about her was presentable; her loose, ragged underclothes could not conceal the most captivating beauty in the capital.

He couldn't help looking at her twice. As a dissolute young lord, he was meant to get involved with beautiful women.

"Ruan Xiang used to be a beast no one wanted. I never dreamed of riches and glory, and I don't want to be discarded at someone's whim again. If the Prince of Chengnan can help me, then Ruan Xiang..." She knew what men in this world loved, too.

Fair skin and stunning beauty, charming and gentle, she could outshine even the consorts in the imperial palace.

A smile glimmered in Li Yingzhan's eyes, softening his ruthlessness with a hint of tenderness and pity. He took off his blue-brown cloak and carefully lifted her into his arms.

Beneath the warm hibiscus curtains, they spent one wild night together.

Just as when she had knelt and begged him, she knew the capital's walls could not hold back the Prince of Chengnan.

Before long, Li Yingzhan rose to the highest reaches of power, and the final chess piece was about to be put to use.

As they parted, they shared one last night of intimacy. Fragrance filled the room, springtime delights lay all around them, and they freely took from one another.

He gently tapped the tip of her nose and held her close. "That wild fox in the mountains is really a tiger. I never knew you were the formidable one."

"My lord is weary from court affairs. Ruan Xiang should help shoulder your burdens." She was as charming as ever.

A few hours later, she would have nothing more to do with Li Yingzhan.

[The Minister of Revenue's daughter, Ruan Xiang, is both beautiful and talented, gentle and obedient. Effective today, she is titled Consort Shu and will reside in the Jade Heart Courtyard.]

He watched the long procession of carriages as she was escorted into the imperial palace.

Reader's guide:

Both leads are sexually inexperienced. Happy ending.

A fictionalized Tang dynasty setting, with many original details.

Dominating female general x refined, celibate strategist

Court politics x the martial world

Blurb:

A saying has spread across the Central Plains: There is a pretty-boy emperor who rules the country through his looks.

He guessed they simply couldn't find a better insult.

A puppet on strings, a useless deposed emperor, a disgrace to the Li family. It seemed those were the only purposes he had been born for.

On the day he was exiled, his heart turned to ashes. He died in the northern desert the next day, never imagining that after being reborn, he would be completely transformed into the strongest strategist.

Then he met the young woman who had bound him for his entire life...

She was the ruler of the northern desert, a female general with unyielding integrity, and a minister who had once lived openly and honorably beneath the clear blue sky. Yet she willingly ventured with him into that filthy, sordid world.

Revenge, love, and righteousness became the ties binding the two of them to the world.

When power and status beckon once more, what will they choose...

Content notes:

A wholly fictional historical setting. Please don't nitpick the history.

The male lead is reborn.

Both leads are sexually inexperienced.

The pace is on the slow side, with an ensemble cast and a plot-driven story.

Theme: Be the protagonist of your own life