After the Emperor Betrothed Me

[Main story complete]

During the Lishan Rebellion, Crown Prince Wei Jue was trapped for seven whole days.

In a damp, chilly cave, the proud and haughty man said to Lin Shuang, "The victor becomes king, and the loser is condemned. I have no regrets about dying, but there is one thing I regret."

Before she could answer, Wei Jue continued, "I want to see you in your wedding dress."

Lin Shuang never replied, but she tightened her grip on the hand of the pale man leaning against her shoulder.

*

Lin Shuang had been at Crown Prince Wei Jue's side since she was six. She was his most capable maid and his most trusted female official.

The rebellion was quelled, and Wei Jue ascended the throne.

Lin Shuang was so lucky. After years of devotion and saving her master this time, surely she would be made a consort and rewarded.

That was what everyone thought.

Yet on the very day the new emperor ascended the throne, Lin Shuang was bestowed upon Lin Han, a palace guard of the Imperial Guard who had distinguished himself in putting down the rebellion.

Everyone else saw Lin Shuang as a laughingstock, but she didn't mind.

She had grown up in the Eastern Palace and knew all too well that a consort's favor lasted only as long as the emperor wished. How could that compare to the freedom of being a proper wife?

Besides, this fulfilled the wish he'd voiced that day at Lishan.

Lin Shuang thought she would spend a quiet, peaceful life this way. But on the day of the Emperor's Longevity Festival, as the fireworks filled the sky and then faded, the wise and virtuous new emperor took her hand in the darkness.

He called her childhood nickname, his voice hoarse and unsteady. "A Yu, I regret it..."

*

The imperial family is the most heartless of all. Wei Jue had once believed that nothing could hold him back. Once something no longer had value to him, he would cast it aside without hesitation.

Lin Shuang, for instance.

He thought it would be as easy as giving up a beloved toy from his childhood.

He never imagined it would hurt like tearing bloody flesh from his own body.

One-on-one romance, both are each other's first, happy ending, regret and redemption

Coming soon: The First Year of Widowhood

In the first year of her widowhood, after the mourning period ended, Qin Shu traveled south with a friend to clear her mind.

Amid the misty rain of Jiangnan, with bridges reflected in clear waters, she saw her supposedly deceased husband aboard a covered boat.

A gentle woman leaned against him, cradling a swaddled baby. His expression was soft, and the scene radiated family warmth.

*

Looking back on her three-year marriage to Song Yuzhang, they might not have been a pair of star-crossed lovers, but they had treated each other with respect.

Even though he had died in an accident, she still felt he would live in her heart forever, just as she had secretly loved him for ten years before.

She could go on loving him all by herself.

The moment she saw her "late husband" again, her emotions broke loose like a flood.

Only then did Qin Shu understand that ten years of love for someone could also be emptied in an instant.

*

From the day he faked his death and disappeared, Song Yuzhang had vaguely sensed he was on a road with no return.

That unease did not fade with time. It only grew stronger, reaching its peak the moment he saw Qin Shu again.

He even appeared without warning at Qin Shu's wedding, certain she would throw herself into his arms again, just as she had ten years ago.

She wore red, bright and beautiful, just as she had on the day she married him. But this time, the man she was marrying wasn't him. Her gaze held no more tender affection, only coldness, as she said, "My late husband died in the year I loved him most."

Theme: Don't give in to insecurity. Fight for what you want.