After Their Divorce, Her Ex-Husband Ascended the Throne

[Sorry, everyone, this story is on hiatus, with no set return date. Note left June 7]

Blurb:

① Tang Xining, the third young lady of the Duke of Tang's household, is breathtakingly beautiful, but has been frail and sickly since childhood. Only long-term treatment with rare medicines can give her hope of a long life.

The Duke and his wife make an early plan for their youngest daughter: find a handsome husband to move into their home and look after her.

Shen Weizhi, who has come to the capital for the imperial examinations, is handsome and refined, from a poor family, and one of many brothers. He is an ideal son-in-law who could marry into the family.

But on the day the results are announced, the Duke's household servants grab the wrong man...

② Her husband goes from being a successful candidate in this year's imperial exams to a penniless, amnesiac brute. Outsiders pity Tang Xining for her bad luck, and her parents urge her every few days to write a letter of divorce.

But Tang Xining, who spends her nights in bliss, isn't moved at all. Whenever her parents nag her, she clutches her chest and gives them a pitiful, solemn refusal: "Father, Mother, you don't understand. He treats me so well..."

A brute has his advantages. There are pleasures that a refined scholar simply can't provide.

③ The amnesiac Chu Yuan can't bear to let his wife suffer even a little. He listens to her in everything: if she tells him to go east, he goes east; if she tells him to go west, he goes west.

His wife tells him that Cloud Pavilion is a cosmetics shop, and he believes her.

But one autumn night, a sudden downpour begins. Worried his wife might catch cold, he brings her some clothes, only to discover that Cloud Pavilion isn't a cosmetics shop at all. It's a brothel!

Chu Yuan's handsome face darkens like ice, and he immediately carries Tang Xining to the carriage.

After they get home, Tang Xining cries all night, thinking that once his anger cools by morning, he'll surely listen to her explanation...

But when she wakes the next day, her brute is gone.

④ After divorcing Chu Yuan, Tang Xining spends a long time hiding in the Duke's household, feeling miserable.

Her parents can't bear to see their daughter so heartbroken. Just then, the new emperor ascends the throne and a banquet is held at the palace. They take their daughter along to lift her spirits and earnestly advise her:

"There are countless handsome men in the world, Xining. If you don't like scholars, then let's take a good look at the military officers today. If you see someone you like, your father can find a way..."

Tang Xining thinks her mother is right.

You can't hang yourself from one tree. If her ex-husband didn't cherish her, that's because he was blind. She should find a husband she likes and keep living a happy life.

But as she looks around...

Why does the man on the throne look so familiar?

Tang Xining's throat goes dry. She quickly lowers her head and clings to the Duchess, asking timidly, "Mother, if I've been married to the new emperor, can I still look for a husband?"

The Duchess: "?"

At the same time, Chu Yuan sits on the throne, staring coldly at Tang Xining as she looks over the men around her. Suddenly, he silently crushes a jade cup.

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Reading notes:

① One-on-one romance, happy ending. Sickly county lady x amnesiac brute in the beginning, then scheming beauty x black-hearted ruler later.

② Fictional setting with a mix of influences. Please don't nitpick the historical details.

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Coming next: The Night I Saw the Top Graduate Again

A timid, money-loving, lecherous woman x a restrained, patient, sickly ghost

Theme: Breaking free from the cocoon.