After Marrying My Archrival

[Please add my next book, My Junior Uncle Has Run Away Again, to your favorites. Thanks! The blurb is after this one.] The Imperial Tutor, Xi Yan, served as a reader to the late emperor. As the emperor lay dying, Xi Yan swore to help the young sovereign become a wise ruler for generations to come. But one major obstacle stood in his way. The Regent, Xie Mo, used the emperor's youth as an excuse to monopolize power and rule with an iron fist. He did as he pleased, playing the court like a fiddle, and was the foremost traitor in the realm. The whole court was angry but afraid to speak up. Only Xi Yan stepped forward. Though he wore the robes of an Imperial Tutor, Xi Yan was only twenty-three. Young and accomplished, he rebuked the regent with force: “The emperor is destined to rule in his own right. I advise Your Highness to quit while you're ahead.” The regent, dressed in black, lounged beneath the throne with his chin in his hand, gazing lazily at Xi Yan. “Oh? Is that so?” Their principles were irreconcilable, and they fought bitterly at court. But fate had other plans, and Xi Yan and Xie Mo were forced to marry. On their wedding night, the regent looked at the Imperial Tutor's livid face and smiled inscrutably. “I know you love someone else, but you still ended up in my bed.” Xi Yan didn't reply, so he pushed further. “Could the one you love be my late imperial elder brother?” Smack! The next morning, the tyrannical regent left with a handprint on his face. From then on, their battles grew even more vicious, and the court wasn't the only place they fought. Until one day, Xie Mo found letters in a corner of Xi Yan's study, letters that had never been sent to the man he loved. After much hesitation, he finally opened one. The man Xi Yan loved was called “Xie Songyan.” It was the courtesy name Xie Mo's mother had given him when he was a young, unwanted prince abandoned in the cold palace. Xi Yan had loved him back then. The powerless, helpless boy whom even Xie Mo himself despised. How could this be? Regent top, Xie Mo × Imperial Tutor bottom, Xi Yan [Reader's guide] 1. One-on-one romance, happy ending. 2. Very little political intrigue. The focus is on the romance. 3. Both leads grow over the course of the story, and neither is perfect. Their early scheming is genuine, and so is their love. 4. Neither lead has romantic feelings for anyone but the other. 5. There will be heartbreak, thanks to the larger circumstances. 6. The world draws on many dynasties. Please don't nitpick the history. There is no real-life model, and the author's headcanon is mountainous. My next book, My Junior Uncle Has Run Away Again, is on my author page. Please add it to your favorites. Thanks! Jing Anyan, the empress's younger brother, was born to a powerful family. Handsome and a peerless swordsman, he was the most dashing young gentleman in Great Wei. Everyone said he had a limitless future, and that once he officially entered court after coming of age, he would surely accomplish great things. Yet on the eve of his coming-of-age ceremony, Jing Anyan broke the imperial sword bestowed on him, injured his fellow disciples, and formally renounced Great Wei before fleeing to the Southern Border. He then vanished without a trace for ten whole years. * Ten years later, a new emperor ascended the throne, and the Southern Border fell into chaos. Everyone knew who lived there, but the former empress, now the empress dowager, still held sway in the inner palace, and no one at court dared act without knowing her wishes. As the court remained deadlocked, Feng Heng, once Jing Anyan's junior disciple and now the inheritor of all his sword techniques, boldly volunteered to lead an army south and reclaim the Southern Border. * Over ten years, Feng Heng had imagined countless times what he would say when he and Jing Anyan met again. He loved him, missed him, yearned for him, and wanted to know the truth behind his flight all those years ago. But in the end, he didn't manage to say any of it. Somehow, they wound up in bed instead. * After the storm had passed, Feng Heng gazed at the man's unchanged features and softly asked, “Will you run away again?” Jing Anyan shook his head. Feng Heng smiled and fell asleep, reassured. When he opened his eyes again, the space beside him was empty. Feng Heng: ... You'd sooner believe in ghosts than trust a word Jing Anyan says! Junior Uncle, are you addicted to lying to me? Devoted, stubborn general top, Feng Heng × flirtatious, silver-tongued poison master bottom, Jing Anyan Fake innocent flower top × performative liar bottom Theme: Never give up, no matter what difficulties you face.