In Spring, Peach Blossom Waters Flow Everywhere

My other novel, The Widower Ten Years Later, is now underway! [Rewritten and extensively revised chapters are marked in the titles. More than 60,000 new words have been added, and the bonus side story is up. Please consider leaving a five-star review. Thank you! ^ ^] - Shi Lingyao and Xie Zongwei married according to their parents’ wishes and the matchmaker’s arrangements. In the eyes of outsiders, they were a perfect match: their families were of equal standing, they were both talented and beautiful, and they could not have been better suited to each other. But only Shi Lingyao knew that her young husband, who had placed first in all three imperial examinations and was the pride of Bianjing, was cold and difficult to get along with in private. Even lying in bed reading a storybook earned her a cold glare from him. Later, he spent most of his time in his study and rarely shared her bed. Shi Lingyao rolled around with her quilt, sadly realizing that her marriage was probably an unhappy one. But later, someone told her that Xie Zongwei had remained unmarried for ten years for her sake and raised their two children all by himself. Shi Lingyao had only gone to sleep, yet when she woke up, she found herself ten years in the future. She blinked uncertainly. Was he talking about the Xie Zongwei she had married? · Xie Zongwei, the current Grand Councilor, had joined the Grand Secretariat at just twenty-five. Before turning thirty, he had become Grand Councilor, wielding tremendous power and authority over the court. There was a whispered story going around that the Grand Councilor’s wife had fallen from a cliff years ago, leaving no trace of her remains. They had searched everywhere, but she was never found. In his despair, he had nearly thrown himself off the cliff to join her. If the Old Madam of the Xie family hadn’t arrived in time with his two young children, Xie Zongwei would have been lost to the world. That was how Xie Zongwei earned his reputation for devotion. But one day, someone happened to see the usually upright, aloof, and self-disciplined Grand Councilor grabbing the wrist of a beautiful young woman in the middle of the street and refusing to let go! If he had only held her hand, that would have been one thing, but he wasn’t satisfied with that. He actually scooped her up and shoved her into a carriage in full view of the public, then drove off with her! When people heard the news, they cried out in disbelief: He’s Xie Zongwei! The most virtuous and handsome widower in all of Bianjing! Impossible! It can’t be true! Inside the carriage, Xie Zongwei clasped Shi Lingyao’s hand tightly and stared at her radiant, delicate face, unchanged from years ago. He said, word by word, “You came back.” “The first person you went to see wasn’t me.” “What, do you think I’m too old now?” Shi Lingyao: I’m innocent! #What should I do when my husband, who’s ten years older now, suddenly becomes clingy? Please help, it’s urgent! Coming soon in March: The Widower Ten Years Later Song Shanzhi did not like her fiancé. Even though Li Wei had earned one military victory after another at a young age, and the entire court praised him as a brilliant young man with a bright future and a pillar of the nation. Whenever Song Shanzhi met Li Wei, his gaze fixed on her made her skin crawl. At last, Song Shanzhi worked up the courage to send Li Wei a note. She asked him to meet her tomorrow beneath the third old willow tree along the West River. Song Shanzhi rehearsed her words over and over, resolved to break off their engagement. But she died on her way to meet him. · When Song Shanzhi woke again, she looked at the frost covering the city and was dumbfounded. Before she could find her parents and brothers, Song Shanzhi ran into Li Wei. Li Wei, ten years in the future. The man offering up the beauty continued to flatter him, utterly unaware of how terrifying the Grand Marshal’s expression was becoming. “Take your counterfeit and get out.” Song Shanzhi was still dazed when she was thrown out. The man who had brought her there to present her as a gift sighed. “The Grand Marshal really is devoted!” Devoted? Li Wei? Song Shanzhi couldn’t make sense of it. Could she be the one he was devoted to? · Li Wei joined the army as a young man, fought through ten years of bloody battles, and rose to the rank of Grand Marshal. But he had never married. He even rejected a marriage personally arranged by the Emperor. Those who knew the story sighed that the Grand Marshal still couldn’t forget his fiancée, who had tragically died during a disaster years ago. Li Wei couldn’t help remembering her. She had died on her way to meet him. What had she meant to say to him that night? Li Wei thought he would never get an answer in this lifetime. But Heaven both hated and pitied him. He stroked the little red mole on the young woman’s earlobe and kissed her. “On the seventh day of the third month that year, what were you going to tell me?” Song Shanzhi trembled. He was so unhinged. How could she tell him that she had been planning to break off their engagement? Theme: Sincerity matters most.