Mountains for Ears

My next historical romance, The Lady Is "Virtuous and Gentle," opens at midnight on the 21st of this month. The blurb is at the very bottom. If you like it, please add it to your favorites. Thank you!

[Mutual pining || Reunion after years apart || Sweet romance, both leads are virgins]

A resilient, gentle volunteer teacher x a calm, handsome doctor sent to the countryside

Blurb:

The next time Tong Zhi saw Jing Xi was ten years after he left S City.

He sat with his head lowered on a sofa in the corner, his bangs falling over his slightly upturned, peach-blossom eyes. His long fingers casually swiped across his phone screen as he quietly read the densely packed text amid the noisy private room.

Seeing the familiar brand logo on his shirt cufflinks and the understated, luxurious mechanical watch on his cool, pale wrist, Tong Zhi couldn't help but feel relieved.

It seemed he'd done pretty well for himself.

*

In the spacious, square courtyard, a winding path paved with gravel curved past several gray-and-white tiled houses. Jing Xi wheeled his suitcase over and saw Tong Zhi standing in the doorway, expertly flipping food in a wok as she cooked.

As the village secretary enthusiastically introduced them, Tong Zhi's blank mind slowly came back to life. She reached out to shake his hand, still dazed. "Hello, Doctor Jing."

A soft light gradually appeared in Jing Xi's deep eyes. The cool detachment faded from his handsome face, and he held her hand with a smile. "I left in a hurry the day of the class reunion. Tong Zhi, it's been a long time."

As the new doctor assigned to the countryside, Jing Xi became her neighbor.

*

The feelings of teenagers are like unripe green apricots hanging from roadside branches:

Hidden among the leaves, yet easy to spot.

Breathe in their fragrance, sweet with a hint of sourness.

Tong Zhi sat in the clinic, watching a shy young boy and girl from her class, their feelings just beginning to stir. With a sigh, she waved them back to class.

"Those two kids are kind of adorable."

Tong Zhi turned to look at Jing Xi, who was sorting medical records behind the desk, and said with some concern, "Puppy love is wrong. I'll have to talk to them later."

A smile touched Jing Xi's warm, gentle eyes. He capped his pen, leaned back, and looked at Tong Zhi. "Those two kids haven't done or said anything at all. I've been sitting here watching them for over an hour. I can vouch for them."

"They come by after class every day. He even bought those candies especially for her. His feelings are written all over his face."

Leaning against Jing Xi's desk, Tong Zhi absently picked at her fingertips as she thought. Jing Xi glanced at her, took something from his drawer, then stood and took her hand, placing it in her palm.

It was her favorite orange-flavored lollipop from her school days.

His dark eyes seemed to catch the spring sunshine. Jing Xi bent slightly to meet Tong Zhi's gaze. "Teacher Tong, his feelings are written all over his face. Can you read mine?"

-

The words you keep in your heart,

The mountain says, it heard them.

I heard them too.

"Tong Zhi, I like you."

"Jing Xi, I like you too."

---Historical romance The Lady Is "Virtuous and Gentle": Blurb for the upcoming novel---

[A seemingly perfect noblewoman with no heart]

[A loyal, black-bellied general who keeps his true nature hidden]

Jiang Lanyin lost both her parents at a young age and was raised in the imperial palace.

At the Qionghua Banquet, she danced so beautifully that she captivated everyone present, and stole the heart of a proper young gentleman.

That same year, Chancellor Fu Tang earned merit for his disaster relief work and asked for only one reward.

The next year, she became Fu Tang's wife.

The year after that, she was buried in the Fu family graveyard. Fu Tang carved her gravestone himself, and he was the one who poisoned her.

Reborn, she returned to the day of the Qionghua Banquet.

Once again, her breathtaking dance captivated the crowd, and she used it to ask His Majesty for a reward.

The next year, she became Ji Zhiyi's wife.

The year after that, she became famous throughout the land for her virtue and gentleness.

---Jiang Lanyin's Little Diary of Virtue and Gentleness---

(1)

Yonghe Year 28, third month, nineteenth day. Sunny.

Today is the 102nd day since Ji Zhiyi went off to war. The Empress Dowager says the campaign will take at least a year.

I dug my nails into my palm to stop myself from laughing out loud, then spoke to the Empress Dowager about my worries, my eyes red with tears. She wiped them away herself and rewarded me with two pearls from the Eastern Sea.

Wonderful! I'll come cry again next month!

I happily carried the two pearls back to the General's residence. A servant came to report that Ji Zhiyi's concubine was pregnant. The doctor confirmed that the timing matched the month Ji Zhiyi had returned.

As you'd expect of a martial artist. One try, and it worked. A real expert!

Ji Zhiyi treats me well (he's generous with money), so I have to protect his child! No one can harm his offspring!

I'm a good, virtuous wife again today! Give myself a pat on the back!

(2)

Yonghe Year 28, sixth month, twentieth day. Overcast.

Ji Zhiyi came back today, but I'm so sad because my reward is gone.

I thought that if I took good care of his pregnant concubine, I could get some more silver. But I never imagined the baby wasn't his!

There used to be two concubines, but now one has died. Before, three people took turns serving him for ten days each. Now there are two of us, and each has to serve him for fifteen days. The monthly allowance hasn't changed.

I'm so sad! So very sad! I have to find a way to get him two more concubines!

(3)

Yonghe Year 30, twelfth month, twenty-eighth day. Snowing.

Ji Zhiyi found this diary. The end.

Note: 1v1, both leads are virgins. The male lead has nothing to do with the concubine; this will be explained in the story. Only the diary is written in first person, the main story is in third person!

Theme: Don't leave the happiness of youth without regrets.