Evergreen

Who says merchants can't care about the people? Who says officials can't harbor private desires?

[Romance: A scheming man woos a rich woman]

The young lady Wen, who lived by the river in Wuzhou, was as graceful and lovely as a camellia in the springtime south of the Yangtze. The Wen family was wealthy, too. At her age, the matchmakers should have worn out their shoes at her door, yet things had turned out otherwise. She was well into her twenties and still unmarried, much to her father's distress.

It turned out that although Miss Wen was stunningly beautiful, she also had a ruthless, unfeeling heart. After taking charge of the Wen family, she turned its business from loss to profit single-handedly, and did so with a fierce, uncompromising style. From prefects and county magistrates to street thugs, everyone had to show her some respect. Nobody dared covet the Wen family's business, let alone make a move on Miss Wen. That was why people in Wuzhou privately called her "Iron Vajra."

In the third year of Taihe, a severe drought struck Jiangnan. Liang Pin, an investigating censor, was dispatched by imperial order to oversee the region. Before long, news spread that he was to marry Miss Wen. Everyone was astonished. Was the "Iron Vajra" of Wuzhou really getting married? Who exactly was this Lord Liang?

"I'll provide the silver, but I'm a businesswoman. Lord Liang will have to offer something in return."

"Certainly. Ask for whatever you like, Miss Wen. If it's within my power, I won't refuse."

"Good. My marriage prospects have been giving me a headache lately. Why don't you marry into the Wen family and become a live-in son-in-law?"

"All right."

"All right?!"

"Yes. If Miss Wen is willing to pay for disaster relief, I agree to marry into the Wen family."

"Lord Liang, do you know what it means to marry into a woman's family?"

"I do."

"After we marry, you'll have to live with the Wen family. I'll make all the decisions at home, and our children will take my surname. Are you really willing?"

"I said I wouldn't refuse."

"Liang Pin, you must be out of your mind."

Was he? No. He was simply willing, from the bottom of his heart.

[Plot: "The fields crack, the rivers run dry. What are we to do?"]

In the third year of Taihe, many parts of Jiangnan went without rain until autumn. Silkworms died in the heat, and the harvest failed completely. The region once known for fine silks and plentiful rice and fish had almost become a living hell.

Wuzhou was stricken by drought, and the people were suffering terribly. Yet the court received no reports about the disaster there. The Censorate sent Investigating Censor Liang Pin to secretly investigate the cover-up, but the imperial envoy nearly lost his life in Wuzhou, leading to the uncovering of a shocking case.

Officials and merchants, money and power.

A tangled knot that cannot be cut or unraveled.

Should they go with the flow and secure a future for themselves? Or stand against the powerful clans with their own strength and seek justice for the people?

Should they look away and keep to themselves? Or share food and money, and weather hardship together?

*

After the rain, the sky cleared, pure and bright beneath the night.

"A Hui, do you have any wishes?"

"First, may the rivers never run dry and the mountains remain green. Second, may the weather be favorable and the rice and mulberry harvests abundant. Third, may the person I yearn for be safe and free of worry."

[Preorder] Traitor, please add to your collection

Blurb:

After the Battle of Lingshan, Xiaodi fell. The new dynasty unified the realm and purged the Lingshan Sect, which had guarded the mountain. The Lingshan Sect's traitor, Shi Yunhui, disappeared with a secret manual. Every search for her came up empty.

Three years later, a mysterious group appeared in the martial world. They traveled from place to place, taking money to get things done. Wherever they went, someone either lost their money or their life. They had never failed a job.

Many thought a new talent had emerged in the martial world, but anyone who saw the group in person was left utterly stunned. Their leader was a young woman, accompanied by a cripple, a one-eyed man, and an old man. Everyone agreed on their assessment: excellent at getting things done, but terrible people. The group was devious and greedy, and anyone without real skill would likely get beaten up.

The young woman was Zhao Danliang. No one knew where she had learned her skills, but she wielded an iron saber and was a match for few. She never saved any of her earnings. She treated her "underlings" to the best food and drink, spent everything, then took the next job.

She never worried about the past or thought about tomorrow.

Until one day, a young man named Yao Xian brought her a job that dragged Zhao Danliang back into the past.

"Shi Yunhui, traitor of the Lingshan Sect."

"Shi Yunhui, the sect leader treated you as his successor, and this is how you turn your sword on your fellow disciples?"

"Shi Yunhui, the deaths of 130 people from the Lingshan Sect and tens of thousands of Pingguo's people are on your head!"

**

The past weighed too heavily for Zhao Danliang to remember.

"Boss, if you want a quiet life, the few of us can find somewhere far away and start a little business. Nobody will know who we are. If you want to get to the bottom of this, we'll risk our lives to scrape this whole mess off your back."

Should she keep being the carefree Zhao Danliang, or take up the Qinghui Sword and seek justice for herself and the Lingshan Sect?

**

Love one person, hate another.

Wang Du, the new dynasty emperor's fourth son, hid his identity and spent five years in Lingshan to secure the position of crown prince. He broke the Lingshan formation to help the new army invade Xiaodi and unify the realm.

"Yunhui? You're alive! That's wonderful, wonderful..."

Wang Du called upon the power of the Eastern Palace and searched everywhere for his beloved, to no avail. When he saw her again, he felt nothing but joy and relief, completely failing to notice the blade pointed at him.

"Shi Yunhui is dead. My name is Zhao Danliang. Shi Yunhui asked me to take your life."

Theme: All that fills heaven and earth is the myriad things