I Think of Yingying

My next book will be either Bewitching Heart or The Little Empress Who Just Wants to Lie Flat. Please add them to your favorites, mwah.

Scheming Crown Princess x Gentle, Chaste Imperial Uncle

Everyone in the aristocratic families of Shengjing knew that Crown Prince Li Chen had someone in his heart. Because of her, the position of Crown Princess had remained vacant to this day.

She was his childhood sweetheart. One year, beneath the willows in the moonlight, with brilliant lanterns illuminating the whole city, Li Chen, then still a prince, clasped her hand and confessed, "Yingying, I will ask Father to grant me your hand. We will be together for our whole lives, just the two of us, and never part."

But an assassination plot, long planned against him, changed everything. She was gravely wounded saving him. Though a miracle-working physician managed to pull her back from the brink of death, she remained extremely weak and had to accompany him south for further treatment.

Three years later.

With spring in full bloom, Xue Ciying, eldest daughter of the Duke of Wei's household, returned to the capital from Jiangnan. The Crown Prince went to welcome her in person.

The joy of two lovers reunited after a long separation had barely begun to fade when she noticed the dim look in the eyes of the other girl beside him, as pitiful as a pear blossom drenched by the spring rain.

Xue Ciying: I came all this way back, only to witness a tragic love story?

What happened next seemed to confirm her suspicions.

With the wedding just around the corner, the girl left without a word, and Li Chen was left utterly distraught.

Xue Ciying wanted to step aside and let them be together, but her father could not bear to give up the glory, and Li Chen refused to let her go. "Yingying, if you won't marry me, who in this realm would dare marry you?"

.

At the spring banquet, cups clinked and wine flowed. Below the emperor, a man in a jade crown drank alone.

Though the weather was warm and bright, he wore a cloak of fox fur, his face as pale as snow.

Xue Ciying's thoughts stirred.

During the war with Xiliang, Prince Duan Li Yi was struck by a strange poison. Though he returned to the capital victorious, the delayed antidote left him increasingly frail. The Imperial Medical Bureau warned that it could shorten his life. The emperor felt guilty, and sent rare medicinal herbs to his residence in an endless stream.

In deep melancholy, Li Yi could barely handle a single cup of Pear Blossom Wine. He left the banquet to nap in a side hall. Half-drunk and half-awake, he caught a faint, delicate fragrance.

A slender hand lifted the beaded curtain. The dignified and graceful future Crown Princess seemed to have lost her way in her haste and tumbled into his arms, pleading softly, "Your Highness, please help me."

Li Yi lowered his eyes. Her lovely face was full of alarm, her breath coming in a rush, but the coolness in her eyes was unmistakably the same as always.

He considered for a moment. Only when footsteps sounded outside the hall did he reach out, wrap an arm around her slender waist, and give a slight nod.

.

Xue Ciying knew Li Yi already loved someone else. Marrying him had only been a ploy to escape Li Chen's entanglements. But as time went by, she saw how upright and noble he was, and came to admire his courage and honor. Afraid of ruining his relationship with the woman he loved, she made a clean break, left him a letter of divorce, and slipped away.

Li Yi knew Xue Ciying had no feelings for him and had only used him to get away. He had saved and protected her to repay the kindness they had shared in their youth. Once the dust settled, they would naturally go their separate ways. But when she left, he stopped the official boat taking her south. "Yingying, you are my princess. Wherever you are, I will be there too."

The world's romance is but dust. You alone are the bright spring in my eyes.

"Reading Guide"

1. The hero pursues his wife after losing her. Both leads are each other's first and only partners. The second male lead ends up with the heroine; the Crown Prince is not the male lead.

2. There is an age gap of about nine years between the leads. Please skip this if that bothers you.

3. Besides the romance between the leads, the story also includes a few secondary plotlines. Early on, there will also be a little plot involving a supporting character who has been reborn, included to move the main story forward.

4. This is an alternate history. Please don't nitpick the historical details. It's been so long since I started a new book that I can't think of all the content warnings right now. I'll add more as I write.

4. Please keep comments friendly. Discussion of the plot is very welcome. I hope you enjoy reading.

-------------------- Upcoming Books --------------------

1. Bewitching Heart

Blurb 1

The finest of the crimson flowers, and I bloom the brightest.

The Wen family of Lianxi has been renowned for its scholarship for a century, producing a steady stream of talented people. Its daughters are no less gifted. For instance, Wen Lingru's two elder sisters are beautiful and clever, their talents celebrated throughout the capital.

Wen Lingru is the youngest daughter of the Wen family. She grew up in the countryside and did not return to the capital until she was a young woman. The world knows her two elder sisters, but not her. She doesn't mind, though. By nature, she is carefree and unambitious, and wants only to live a peaceful, untroubled life.

She had already set her sights on the young son of Chen, a neighboring family from her hometown, whose father was a senior official. He was handsome and gentle. Most importantly, he liked her too. Whenever he saw her, he blushed, and promised that the two of them would be together for their whole lives.

She thought her future would be as simple as the stream outside her door, its clear waters flowing gently, its depths plain to see. That was until the day she met someone else...

Blurb 2

Crown Prince Yuan Zhen is gentle, refined, and a model of virtue. As he approaches the age of twenty, the emperor and empress wish to arrange a marriage between him and the Wen family's second daughter.

He once loved someone else. When he secretly left the capital as a young man, he was saved by a girl like a mountain spirit. With her snowy skin and floral beauty, she was like an orchid blooming in a secluded valley. He fell in love at first sight and wanted to take her back to the capital, but she said she could not stand the rules and formalities of a grand household and wished only to spend her life in the countryside. Unwilling to force her, he bade her a reluctant farewell.

Yet when he personally went to the Wen residence to deliver the betrothal gifts, he saw that girl nestled against his betrothed, laughing and chatting. In the hall, a handsome young man, as flawless as jade, smiled at her with tender affection in his eyes.

Only then did the bright and noble Crown Prince realize that his heart could still be thrown into disarray by her.

2. The Little Empress Who Just Wants to Lie Flat

A little empress who can't bring herself to hustle or lie flat x an emperor who can't stand seeing anyone take it easy

Blurb 1:

Shen Shu transmigrates into the daughter of a high-ranking official in the Court of State Ceremonial in an alternate dynasty. In her past life, she worked 996, and in this life, all she wants is to lie flat.

But fate has other plans.

One day, while visiting a garden, she catches the attention of the Empress Dowager and is appointed the emperor's new empress.

Thinking of the frail young emperor on the throne, his colorful harem, and his mother, who has the makings of Empress Lu, Shen Shu is overwhelmed at the thought of entering hard mode in the imperial harem. Is this what they mean by the rewards of working 996?

Blurb 2:

Zhou Yin, a business tycoon, transmigrates into the new emperor of the Great Qian dynasty.

The Empress Dowager rules from behind the curtain. The original emperor was frail and obsessed with women, and after years of peace and prosperity, the realm is riddled with hidden troubles.

With threats both within and beyond the realm, the first priority must be to enrich the country and strengthen its army.

The new emperor works 996 in court, rises early and stays up late, battles his mother and powerful ministers, consolidates his authority, and exhausts himself in the process. He never imagined that just as he was already overwhelmed, one wave of trouble in the harem would barely pass before another arrived.

Yesterday, Concubine Wan wept and pleaded for him to settle a dispute. Today, Noble Consort Yun accused him of favoring his new love. The day after, Consort Liu fell lovesick and longed for a visit from her beloved.

Where is my empress?

Oh, right. I don't have one yet~

A Little Scene:

One day after the wedding.

The emperor had a rare moment of leisure and went into the imperial garden.

The spring weather was lovely, and beauties bloomed like flowers. One chased butterflies and stumbled into him, another happened to meet him while admiring the flowers, and a third twisted her ankle and fell against him.

Fed up, the emperor went into Kunning Palace, only to find his empress lounging on a couch, leisurely reading a romance novel.

The emperor was instantly furious. "The harem is far too idle. Empress, do you know your crime?"

"..." Shen Shu was bewildered and couldn't help asking, "What crime have I committed?"

The emperor's face was icy as he swept out of the room. "My harem has no place for idle people!"

This is a story about a transmigrated woman and a transmigrated man joining forces to revitalize their homeland. It's also a story about a workaholic and someone who resists the workaholic grind.

Theme: Follow your heart and stay true to yourself