Stone Feather

My historical romance next door, A Painting on the Qilin Pavilion, has started. Marriage first, love later.

Blurb:

[Proud, Lonely Divine Lord / Solitary Little Bird x Ascetic Taoist / Devoted Powerhouse]

Deep in the night, when the dew lay heavy, stood a lonely shrine in the mountains.

The Taoist looked up coldly. A red silk lantern hung high overhead, casting dim yellow light. The woman's features were sharply defined, vivid and beautiful, though she wore little makeup.

The young woman, Jiang, who had been devoutly painting a god, lowered her eyes and looked at him with an enigmatic smile.

She asked him to pass her a brush. As she leaned forward to take it, the tiny cinnabar mole at the corner of her eye caught his gaze, and he suddenly lost himself in the moment.

He knew the outwardly docile "Miss Jiang" had some other purpose. She was either a demon or something else entirely.

He never expected that one day he would wait beneath that luan tree, hoping for one last meeting with her in the mortal world.

Unwilling to accept it, he reminded her, "Immortals must not lie."

And confessed with disarming honesty, "Tonight, I don't care about all living beings."

*Inspired by A Wide Collection of Taiping Era Tales: "Can the joys of Heaven compare with those of the mortal world? Just don't let us grow old and die. There are many exalted beings in Heaven, and serving one another is even more exhausting than life on earth."

[Reading Guide]

1. Xi He, the divine lord / Jiang Yu / Shu Yu are all the same person.

2. Happy ending, happy ending, happy ending!!! A story about a divine couple fighting demons and falling in love~

3. Not traditional cultivation! The worldbuilding is entirely fictional.

4. Both leads are strong. They love each other wholeheartedly. There is a past life, and both have lost some of their memories, which they regain later. Flashbacks are interspersed throughout.

5. The story is split between the immortal and mortal realms. The mortal world is a fictional Tang dynasty setting.

[Refined, Cold, and Cunning Young Master x Gentle, Perceptive Beauty Without a Heart]

Sex first, marriage next, love after | Ascetic loses control | Intense push and pull | Love triangle | False replacement

"Xue Luo's perspective"

Xue Luo, the eldest daughter of the Zheng family, has a secret she cannot let anyone discover.

The emperor betrothed her to the only son of his father's political enemy, Lord Fang Suining, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Rumor had it that though Fang Suining had a face as gentle as jade, his ruthless methods were enough to make the entire court tremble.

The night before the wedding, the atmosphere at home turned icy. She left the city alone and wandered into an unnamed Taoist temple, where she met a man as beautiful as jade.

As if under some strange spell, she and the mysterious Taoist priest clasped hands and slipped behind the bed curtains. Sweat soaked their robes. It was a night of madness, and when she awoke, not a trace remained...

She buried that forbidden night in her heart, bade farewell to her parents, and set out for the family temple. Under the watchful eyes of the court, she married into her husband's family in a lavish ceremony.

The embroidered curtains were drawn aside, and the bride lifted her fan. Fang Suining, dressed in crimson wedding robes, was breathtakingly elegant, like a jade grove and precious trees. But when he looked at her, there was not a hint of warmth.

"Zheng Xue Luo, the inner chambers are nothing like the court. There's no need to put on an act here."

Her long lashes hid her flickering gaze. She looked heartbroken, but was actually at ease. So be it. Since this marriage meant sharing a bed but not a heart, they only had to keep up appearances.

But after weathering countless trials, just when she thought they could finally part on good terms, her usually indifferent husband crushed the divorce papers she'd prepared in his fist, his cold eyes burning with fury.

"Zheng Xue Luo, were you really just putting on an act?!"

"Suining's perspective"

Fang Suining was born into an eminent clan, a noble son who had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Before he even came of age, all six ministries competed to recruit him, yet he chose the Ministry of Justice, where "the gates have no sign, the halls no decorations, officials no money, and clerks no shame."

A gentleman as beautiful as jade, he spent his days among criminals from every walk of life, overseeing punishment and executions. He was so steeped in the aura of blood that people kept their distance.

Few knew that he had been raised in a Taoist sect from childhood, leading an ascetic life. But the woman who trespassed into his forbidden grounds on the eve of his wedding destroyed his tranquil state of mind.

When he awoke, the goddess had vanished. He followed the plan, accepted his family's duties, donned his crimson robes, and welcomed his bride. Fortunately, this marriage alliance between their families required neither his true feelings nor consummation.

They drank no nuptial wine and lay down fully clothed, without even brushing against each other. When the red candle burned out, he prepared to leave. Then he heard the woman beside him murmur unconsciously.

Her eyes were closed, her cloudlike hair loosened. Her sleeping profile looked just like a shadow. Beneath her partly open collar, a red mark appeared and disappeared from view.

His gaze narrowed, and he unconsciously tugged loose his tight collar.

A sudden urge seized him: to kiss her lips, bite her neck, and watch her tilt her face up as she panted softly.

Just like last night.

#Zheng Xue Luo, pronounced Bi Luo

#Pure historical romance, the third book in the Da Qi trilogy. Plot-driven with a bittersweet flavor.

#Happy ending, one-on-one romance. The hero falls first. Contains classic melodramatic tropes, including a false replacement.

#None of the characters are perfect.

#For readers who followed Lai Yi from the previous book: this story takes place about seventeen years before Not the Phoenix's Choice. It is set during the flourishing Da Qi era. Xue Luo and Lai Yi grew up in very different environments. If any details of the timeline or setting differ, please go by whichever version you prefer and don't overthink it!

Theme: Hold fast to your original intentions, and you will see things through