Records of Washed Branches

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When Ling Yuzhi transmigrated to the Yan Dynasty, it was early spring in the fifth year of Yuanjia. In Zhangzhou, Jiangnan, the spring waters were bluer than the sky.

At first, she knew nothing about this dynasty. She only wanted to enjoy life while she could, lie flat like a salted fish, and open a little eatery with her friend, savoring the everyday pleasures of every season.

That same year, Pei Antang, then Vice Minister of Revenue, was framed in a wrongful case, demoted, and sent from the capital to serve as magistrate of Qing'an County in Zhangzhou.

Distant mountains were tinged with blue, and misty rain fell without end. A young gentleman in green robes, as elegant as jade and as pure as autumn frost, stood on a bridge and gave Ling Yuzhi a courteous nod.

She thought he was truly as gentle as jade, a gentleman in every sense of the word.

*

Pei Antang was upright and honorable. Though he had endured a lifetime of ups and downs and wandered far from home, he never lost the open heart of a true gentleman.

No one knew that on that day, through the dense rain on the stone bridge, he saw a girl carrying a food box and smiling brightly, and felt his heart stir despite himself.

Because they had met a few times before, Ling Yuzhi often sent him special dishes and pastries.

One day, a little tipsy, she leaned close to his ear. “Lord Pei, you’re so good to me that I think I’m starting to like you.”

Pei Antang feared the glow of firelight, yet yearned for her, radiant and blazing like the morning sun.

He was willing to offer her his awkward, humble love, cherish her, cook for her, and protect her happiness and safety.

Yet he still dared not look her in the eye. All he said was, “I don’t think I’m good enough.”

Ling Yuzhi gazed at him. “You have to love yourself first to live happily, and only then can you love others better.”

*

At the time, the court was in turmoil and the new emperor’s hold on power was insecure. Empress Dowager Chu’s faction wielded enormous influence, seeking to control everything.

Ling Yuzhi was drawn into several cases, and witnessed firsthand the miscarriages of justice born of an unjust world, along with the innocent people who died amid tangled feuds.

The era she had come to was no peaceful golden age.

She also suddenly realized that once you get to know someone, you can’t help wanting to take part in every aspect of their life.

Especially when the road ahead of Pei Antang was shrouded in clouds, dark and bleak.

For the first twenty years of her life, she had enjoyed freedom and happiness with friends and family by her side. For the first twenty years of Pei Antang’s life, he had walked alone, with even a single lamp always kept far out of reach.

She wanted to say to the man she loved, “May we flourish together through every year, and remain friends for all our days.”

With steadfast hearts, they would face the world as one.

The storm was gathering. Turbid waves surged toward the sky. Ling Yuzhi’s hair whipped into disarray, but her voice and expression were as resolute as fire. “I don’t like this place. But since I’ve come here, I want to join all of you in betting on a brighter world.”

Even if it meant surviving nine deaths, she would have no regrets.

Reader notes:

1. HE, 1v1.

2. Everyday food, mystery and political intrigue, ensemble court drama.

3. The setting is entirely fictional, with official ranks modeled on the Ming Dynasty.

4. The heroine has transmigrated and is not from ancient times, so she has her own views on certain things.

My next historical romance, Mistakenly Admiring a Lofty Branch, is open for advance follows!

Blurb:

Jiang Fu is in love with her savior, Ling Yanchi.

But she was born in the countryside and can’t read a single character. Ling Yanchi is a refined and elegant scion of a prominent family, so she doesn’t dare hope for anything. She can only keep her feelings bottled up.

After her father dies of illness, Jiang Fu has nowhere else to turn and goes to the capital to seek relatives. When she learns she must take the place of a highborn young lady and marry Ling Yanchi, heir to the Duke of Dingguo, she can hardly believe it.

After only a few days of hurried etiquette lessons, she makes one blunder after another. She even trips while getting into the bridal sedan, earning the mockery of the entire capital. At the wedding banquet, she doesn’t know how to eat crab, and the guests sneer that she’s a country bumpkin.

Perhaps Ling Yanchi is embarrassed by her behavior, because he treats her with little warmth.

Jiang Fu blames herself and works even harder to learn proper etiquette, all so she can appear quiet and dignified before him. She goes out of her way to please him, just to earn a glance.

She gets up early to prepare breakfast for him herself, but he looks down on country fare and gives the bowl of noodles to his attendant.

The Princess Mingyi, his childhood friend, is arrogant and overbearing. When she rams Jiang Fu’s carriage and leaves it in a shambles, Ling Yanchi doesn’t ask whether his wife is hurt. Instead, he demands, “Apologize to Mingyi.”

No matter how obediently Jiang Fu tries to please him, she never earns a kind word.

When her true identity is exposed, he throws a divorce agreement at her. To her surprise, Jiang Fu feels relieved.

She and Ling Yanchi were from different worlds all along.

*

Ling Yanchi is exceptionally talented, the man of every noble young lady’s dreams in the capital.

For a man like him to marry a coarse girl from a humble family instead of a princess or a commandery princess is a laughingstock.

He dislikes Jiang Fu and never gives her a pleasant look, yet she keeps throwing herself at him and pretending to be affectionate, trying every possible way to please him.

But he stares at her crooked, awkward signature on the divorce agreement, lost in thought for a long time.

She leaves without hesitation, cutting off all ties with him.

The cold bed and lonely covers bring peace and quiet, yet somehow something is missing.

Then one day, he receives a wedding invitation from a political rival and fellow official. The bride’s name is unmistakably Jiang Fu.

Staring at the bright red invitation, the usually aloof and composed man’s eyes darken. His thoughts churn, and the porcelain cup slips from his hand and smashes to the floor.

Theme: When life is good, enjoy it to the fullest.