Illusions of Jian'an

Upcoming work The Auspicious Qilin: A princess vs. a strategist. Please add it to your collection!

Blurb:

[Upright Censor x Bewitching Emperor], plot-driven.

When Tang Ying was crown princess, she endured years of humiliation alongside the crown prince. Yet the first thing he did after ascending the throne was strip her father of his noble title and exile the women of her clan to the frontier.

Heartbroken, Tang Ying asked to be deposed, left for a distant land, and entered Lingsang Temple to cultivate herself.

Two years passed. When her master died unjustly and she had no way to seek redress, she unexpectedly met a man in white: Lord Yao, who was both teacher and friend, and who was willing to shield her from every storm.

He helped her change her household registration, gave her a new name, taught her how to serve as an official, and stood by her as she cleared her master's name... After countless hardships, she finally won fame in Weiyang for solving a case of bribery in the imperial examinations.

At Shiqiu Tower, she met her former husband again. They were no longer husband and wife, but sovereign and subject.

The ruler seated high above gazed at the woman before him. Her eyes were bright and clear, and she wore a man's fox-fur cloak. Her bearing was noble and elegant. She was no longer the gentle, dignified consort of the Eastern Palace.

He clenched his fists, his breathing growing heavier as he suppressed the pain in his chest. First, he appointed her a censor. Then he promoted her uncle.

She was perplexed.

"Don't you think I'm frightening? Then I'll give you real power."

"Don't you think you're isolated and helpless in Jian'an? Then I'll personally build up your maternal family's influence."

The ruler's eyelids trembled slightly, and his lips pressed together against his will. When her answer still did not come, his heart sank.

She would refuse, wouldn't she...? He had said this only because he wanted her to stay, but why would she ever choose to remain for him again?

To his surprise, the woman he had longed for day and night accepted his offer of an official post.

He froze, confusion rising in his eyes. "Why do you want to be an official?"

She smiled, her gaze unwavering, like a lone pine standing tall in the wind.

"To clean up the administration, root out corrupt officials, impeach the guilty, and ensure the people have a way to seek justice."

Reader's Guide:

1. One-on-one. The blurb only shows a small part of the story. The male lead is a good person, and the female lead does not suffer in silence.

2. The female lead truly shaves her head when she becomes a nun. Her hair grows back gradually after she returns to secular life.

3. The male lead has concubines in name only, and the female lead has a white-moonlight love.

4. This is an imaginary setting. The official system is generally modeled after the Ming dynasty. The emperor is not surnamed Zhu and is not based on any historical figure.

5. Plot-driven! Plot-driven! Don't be misled by the prologue and first chapter, which may seem romance-focused. They establish essential background. There is romance too, but if you're looking for pure romance, this might not be the book for you.

------Upcoming work The Auspicious Qilin--------

[Honey-tongued, backstabbing princess vs. seemingly gentle but secretly ruthless strategist]

Ji Rui was the only daughter of the Earl of the West. She learned divination as a child, and her fame quickly spread.

At the time, a tyrant sat on the throne, imposing harsh punishments and heavy taxes. Everyone thought she would use her miraculous art to aid the ruler and save the people. Instead, Ji Rui planned to help her father become king.

One day, she cast a divination for her father: if the ruler of Xiqi wished to become king, he would need the support of four worthy ministers.

She soon found all four, but one man named Nangong Zi refused to cooperate.

So Ji Rui tried tempting him with wealth, then with herself, but the young man remained unmoved. With no other choice, she lied and told him that he possessed the Qian hexagram, and that unless he chose a worthy lord to serve, he would meet a bad end.

At those words, he seemed afraid and meekly agreed to become her father's adviser.

But she soon discovered that although Nangong Zi was handsome, he was cunning by nature and sharp-witted, yet insisted on putting on the air of a noble and forthright gentleman. He won the hearts of countless noblewomen in Xiqi, and even repeatedly tried to seduce her.

What a sanctimonious hypocrite...

Determined to keep him around, she fussed over him every day, brought him soup late at night, and danced close to him, but he was completely unmoved.

*

Years later, the Earl of the West was imprisoned in Youli. When Ji Rui planned to go alone to Chaoge to negotiate, the hypocrite insisted on going with her.

The road ahead was perilous, and their survival uncertain. Along the way, the hypocrite was badly wounded, and then his father died.

Overcome by grief, Ji Rui could not help but feel moved. She solemnly told him, "If you wish, I can be your family. From now on, we can be like siblings, as close as the flowers of the Tangdi tree."

That day, he gazed at her for a long time, his eyes dark and deep.

*

Times changed, and the stars shifted.

The Shang dynasty fell, and Xiqi rose.

Nangong Zi followed Xiqi's new king as he expanded the realm, becoming one of the most powerful founding generals of the Zhou state.

One day, after the sacrificial rites had ended, the hypocrite overstepped his bounds and pinned her against the altar table, gazing at her passionately as he mumbled, "I want to dance close with the princess."

Even knowing he had been drinking, Ji Rui could not help feeling flustered. She snapped at him.

"Nangong Shi! Aren't we... family?!"

The hypocrite gently stroked her raven hair, his eyes playful as he murmured, "A wife is family too."

Reader's Guide:

1. One-on-one, happy ending, set in an imaginary world at the end of the Shang dynasty and beginning of the Zhou.

2. The female lead is fictional. The historical King Wen of Zhou had no daughter. The male lead's name is Nangong Shi, with Shi pronounced kuo in the fourth tone.

3. The female lead is a hypocrite with ambition, and her family is her only weakness. She is entirely different from the heroine of The Jian'an Illusion.

4. This is not a derivative work. Some characters differ considerably from their historical counterparts, so readers who care about historical accuracy should steer clear.

Theme: A world united, with thriving people and peaceful lives