The Dog Emperor's Road to Winning His Wife Back

[I'll leave this here for now. I'll write more once I've properly researched Xu Luning's emotional journey. I can't write a super-long story Ծ‸Ծ]

[Important notice: This is a long, everyday-life story, currently being revised as I work toward completion. Please check whether you're reading the old or updated version. If you have questions, ask in the comments; I'll answer them all. If you're interested, check out the companion story about the white moonlight, currently being written. Serialization starts on February 1. Thanks for your support~]

Also known as

From the leads' perspectives: "Love Between a Mature Man and Woman in an Alternate History," "Chronicles of an Emperor: Empress Wulie Wen," "Chronicles of an Emperor: Emperor Zhaoming Wen," "The 'Civilized' Everyday Life of a Couple in the Ying Dynasty," "The Imperial Couple at the Top of the Food Chain," "The Uncrowned Empress, Match for Ten Thousand Men," "Reunion After a Long Separation: The Ultimate Push and Pull Between the Sovereign and His Subject"

From the supporting cast's perspectives: "A Historian's Analysis: How I Became a Female Chancellor in the Ying Dynasty," "A Dynasty General's Growth Story," "Pride and Prejudice: They Tried to Kill Me from the Start"

From the ensemble cast's perspectives: "The Court Ladies," "How to Build a Golden Age"

Rekindled love, one-on-one romance, both leads' first love, interwoven storytelling. A youthful, innocent romance between a ruler and his subject → a tug-of-war when they reunite years later → the imperial couple joining hands to build a golden age

A clearheaded, determined heroine who nevertheless falls in love × a cold and stubborn emperor who seems gentle and refined but is always plotting several steps ahead

Mostly sweet romance, unwavering devotion, a colorful ensemble cast, and everyone gets to shine

[Blurb One]

Years later, looking back on the past, Xu Luning finally realized that returning to Yunjing had been her first step toward the empress's throne.

*

After years of traveling, twenty-four-year-old Xu Luning finally awoke from the dream that had felt like a void.

Buddha says that greed, anger, and delusion, along with all unattainable desires, are but illusions.

Xu Luning thought she must not have cultivated herself enough, since she still could not forget someone who had already passed from her life. At last, she decided to return to the prosperous capital.

To give her past self, and her present self and him, another chance.

[Blurb Two]

Xu Luning's most dazzling years were her youth.

"A beauty beyond compare, unmatched beneath heaven."

Back then, across all of Yunjing, she was the girl who best fit those words.

*

During the Suiwu era, Empress Li, the new empress, gave birth to the emperor's seventh son, and her favor grew even stronger. The Li clan's power grew with it, and they entrenched themselves in control of all Yunjing.

The Xu family of Yunjing, a branch of the Xu clan of Luohe, was just one of many aristocratic families dependent on the Li clan. They were obscure and insignificant.

No one in all of Yunjing expected that a beautiful flower would bloom on the withered branch of the Xu family. Her name was Luning, and she was the fourth daughter of the Xu family.

*

In the nineteenth year of Suiwu, Xu Si, a woman, took first place at the martial arts tournament and became a guard to the Seventh Prince alongside the sons of other noble families.

She won Empress Li's favor and was appointed a seventh-rank female official, in charge of the Seventh Prince's household. From then on, rumors about Xu Si spread everywhere, like the wind.

In their eyes, Xu Si was talented in both letters and arms, free-spirited and unconstrained. She was often dressed in red, wielding a long whip with breathtaking skill. She was both the administrator of the prince's household and his female guard, the Seventh Prince's most trusted person.

Some even said... Xu Si would become the future emperor's favorite consort.

But, to everyone's surprise, on the eve of the Seventh Prince's accession to the throne, she vanished without a trace.

For many years afterward, Xu Si remained an unspeakable taboo in the emperor's heart.

[Blurb Three: A Short Scene]

Late at night, Xu Luning sat by the river, gazing at lotus lanterns drifting downstream in the moat.

Footsteps sounded behind her. She turned abruptly. A man stood some distance away, tall and elegant, noble beyond compare, wreathed in icy coldness like a god high above the mortal world.

Yet this was the very man who held out his hand to Xu Luning. As if possessed, Xu Luning placed her slender hand in his broad, warm palm.

And that one gesture lasted a lifetime.

Look, she had witnessed him as a boy, watched him grow into a young man, and would witness the rest of their lives together.

I will place my hand in yours, and with you, gaze upon the moon over ten thousand miles.

[Notes]

1. An alternate history with mixed influences. Don't nitpick the details. This is self-indulgent writing, complete nonsense, but I do have an outline. The focus is on everyday family life. There's a lot of rambling early on, and the plot moves at a leisurely pace.

2. Updates daily or every other day.

3. A sweet, angst-free romance, rekindled love, reunion after a long separation, and the heroine's growth (in a chaotic sort of way). The heroine strides all over Yunjing, and the hero is a scheming black-sesame tangyuan.

4. Read for fun. If something bothers you, blame the characters, not real people. Love you all, kisses!

Theme: When golden wind and jade dew meet, they surpass countless moments in the mortal world