The Owl and the Kite

[Weibo: @Jinjiang Xue Hen] Coming Soon: "Liu Chu Xin". See the synopsis at the end.

Synopsis:

[Charming, Adorable Young Princess vs. Rough-Hewn General of Mixed Ethnic Heritage]

Happy ending, both pure, with a striking height difference.

Yongshan Pass was a treacherous stronghold and a vital border post. After her father and brothers were defeated in battle, Yi Mingyuan never set foot there again.

She became a sinner in the capital, someone anyone could trample on.

Her betrothed broke off their engagement and married someone else. That year, both armies invaded, and the price of their withdrawal was a princess sent off to marry a foreign ruler.

Who would willingly marry a barbarian? So Yi Mingyuan took her place.

She’d heard that people there might go ten days or half a month without bathing, and that they always reeked of a foul, fishy smell.

She thought the grasslands held nothing but endless sandstorms, and that all that awaited her was torment and humiliation.

It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. She missed the geese of the northern frontier and didn’t want to be a caged bird in the capital anymore.

*

When Yi Mingyuan first went to marry into the foreign court, everyone was certain she would die sooner or later, either left dead in the wilderness or buried beneath the yellow sands.

No one knew that Cheng Xiao, then far away on the grasslands fighting for his life just to bring her back, felt joy surge wildly within him when he learned who had been chosen for the marriage.

From that day on, the foreign beast had nothing to hold him back. He wrapped in a beast-fur blanket the girl who had never belonged among the confines of silken finery.

*

Reading Guide:

1. This is a fictional historical setting with lots and lots and lots and lots of original worldbuilding.

2. Xiao is a bird similar to an owl.

3. The male lead is from another ethnic group, so his speech has a translated feel to it.

4. I’d love to see lots of comments. Paragraph comments are enabled, with no restrictions.

5. I’ve taken screenshots of this synopsis. Don’t steal my ideas!

Coming Soon: "Liu Chu Xin"

[Both pure, happy ending, childhood friend vs. unexpected newcomer, airheaded girl vs. scheming black lotus]

Everyone in the capital knew that Shi Yunliu, daughter of the Grand Tutor, was elegant and graceful, with a bearing like a swan and a phoenix. Countless suitors sought her hand.

Attendant Liang was eloquent and possessed talent unmatched in his generation.

Young Master Song was charming and debonair, with a quick wit that made every conversation entertaining.

Young Master Yuan was peerlessly handsome, famed for looking like Pan An.

General Yao had won many victories and had a brilliant future ahead of him.

Shi Yunliu considered one candidate after another and decided they were all wonderful, each a fine choice for a husband.

Then the Crown Prince returned from his tour of the western lands on his father’s behalf.

One day, he showed Shi Yunliu that Attendant Liang had abandoned his devoted wife. The next, he took her to see Young Master Song flirting with other women.

After that, Shi Yunliu decided there wasn’t a single decent man in the capital.

Later, the Grand Tutor gritted his teeth and decided that since his daughter was guileless, it would be best to marry her off far from the capital and its intrigues.

But an imperial decree arranging her marriage arrived instead.

Shi Yunliu clutched her handkerchief and cried for half the day. She didn’t know how to be a Crown Princess.

Before entering the palace, Shi Yunliu was uneasy, afraid others would hide daggers behind their smiles and hurt her with secret schemes.

But after several months of marriage, none of the things she feared came to pass.

She remained as innocent and cheerful as she’d been before she married, smiling brightly all day long.

Until one day, she came upon the Crown Prince with a dark gaze and a bloodied sword in his hand, looking like a demon from the depths of hell.

Shi Yunliu trembled like a leaf. "Husband... what are you doing?"

*

Theme: The realm belongs to all the people.