After the Rebellion, My White Moonlight Became My Strategist

Also known as The Unattainable Darling I Pulled Down from Her Pedestal. A skilled, flirtatious beauty who knows how to fight x a cold, aloof strategist, a lofty flower on a high peak. The heroine makes the first move, and the hero gradually falls for her. I'm starving, so I just want a story where the heroine is in the superior position and wins the hero over.

In years past, the Xu family was unremarkable among the powerful and influential in the capital. Their daughter, Xu Weilan, studied at the Imperial College. Her academic performance was average, her bearing not sufficiently refined, her manner not sufficiently gentle, and her figure not sufficiently delicate. She, too, was easy to overlook.

Back then, the most prominent family in the capital was the Lu family. Their legitimate son, Lu Xianqing, was the very image of a gentleman, with looks and character to match. When he taught at the Imperial College, all the young women there fought to attend his lectures, then lined up to give him scented sachets and handkerchiefs.

Xu Weilan was no exception. Lu Xianqing was simply too handsome, elegant as a jade tree in the breeze, like the moon itself settling into her arms.

If she wanted someone, of course she would go after him.

Xu Weilan did everything she could to create opportunities to spend time with Lu Xianqing, but without exception, he responded with cold indifference and never gave her a second glance.

Xu Weilan, who could even tame a wild horse, had suffered her first defeat. She understood that some people were like the moon in the sky: impossible to attain, no matter how much you longed for them.

Three years later, chaos descended. The towering imperial palace was reduced to scorched earth, and the Xu family seized the opportunity to raise an army, carve out territory, and declare themselves rulers.

When Xu Weilan, now a princess of the commandery, saw her once-unattainable white moonlight, Lu Xianqing, again, his family had been destroyed and he was a fugitive, wandering from place to place.

Lu Xianqing fled from place to place before seeking shelter with the Xu family. Unfortunately, before leaving the capital, the Xu family had incurred a deep grudge against the Lu family at court. Remembering the past, Xu Weilan's father and brothers still ground their teeth in anger, and subjected Lu Xianqing to every humiliation.

Dressed in a blazing red gown, Xu Weilan walked up to Lu Xianqing, who was covered in wounds. Once, he had been beyond her reach. Now he was kneeling before her.

She lifted his pale face. Her eyes were alluring, her voice soft and gentle. "Don't you remember me, sir?"

Lu Xianqing stared at her in a daze with his clear, limpid eyes. Xu Weilan understood: he truly didn't remember her.

Young noblemen of prominent families had always been aloof. Xu Weilan wasn't in a hurry. She would wait for Lu Xianqing to beg for her protection, then make him bow his head and submit to her.

This time, even the moon in the sky would fall to earth, and she would hold it in her hands.

--

Years later, people still described Lu Xianqing as cool and aloof as an immortal, pure as a bright moon and a gentle breeze, beyond anyone's reach.

That's because none of them had ever seen the immortal blushing from a temptress's advances, yet daring neither to get angry nor speak up.

Only Xu Weilan had seen it, and only she ever would.

"Lu Xianqing, oh, Lu Xianqing. You're destined to fall into my hands in this life."

Reader's guide:

1. This is a self-indulgent story written for my own enjoyment. It's melodramatic overall and doesn't have much logic.

2. The heroine only schemes step by step when it comes to romance. In his career, she respects the hero, lets him put his talents to use, and helps him realize his ambitions. They support each other, making them good partners in work and in marriage.

3. The hero was cold and distant back then because too many people were trying to cozy up to him, and he was fed up with it. He was also indifferent to romance, so pure-hearted and desireless he was almost ready to become a monk. Later, the heroine finally pulls him down from his pedestal.

4. The heroine first becomes regent and then emperor, but because of her family ties, she eventually returns the throne to her elder brother's son. She is a free-spirited woman who lives life on her own terms. She loves power but isn't obsessed with it. She becomes regent when she wants to, becomes emperor when she wants to, and when she tires of it, she goes traveling. She isn't forced into anything, guilt-tripped, or driven by a saintly desire to save everyone. It's entirely her choice! She has a daughter with the hero, and their daughter is made a prince and is quite capable. What the daughter ultimately accomplishes is not something this story explores.

All of the above is important. If you don't think you can accept it, or it bothers you, please check these points and steer clear!

Theme: Mutual respect and a harmonious society