The Moon Shines on the Azure Luan

The side-story extra is free next door. My historical novel, Return to the Scabbard, is now open for collection. If you like it, please add it to your collection. [Bows] * [Bright, resilient, vengeful princess x cool, reserved noble son] In the twelfth year of Shengqi, Teng Yue, princess of Yinzhou, came to the capital to choose a husband. The young lord, dressed in a loose green robe, blended into the endless spring scenery with the misty rain and bowed to her. His pines were verdant, his stone-like features like jade. His clear, cool eyes looked straight at her, as did his words, devoid of warmth. He said, "Forgive Yingzhou for its discourtesy in blocking your carriage." "Your Highness, please call off the engagement." * Later, after the Pei family fell, Pei Yingzhou sent her a divorce agreement, his expression as calm as still water. Teng Yue held a long whip in her hand. Torn silk and fallen leaves from the courtyard swept up into the air as she smiled and said, "His Majesty arranged this marriage. Teng Yue would not dare disobey." The whip cracked through the air. Her words struck the heart one by one like pounding drums. She said, "The noble families have stood for millennia, and Yinzhou respects them too. Of all the people in the world, I chose you. You are the only good husband for me." In a corner where no one could see, Pei Yingzhou pieced the divorce letter back together, bit by bit, and mocked himself: "After all these years, I still can't learn to let someone have their way." * I have seen him in fine clothes, riding a spirited horse, and I have seen him reduced to mud. He seems to be abandoned again and again, yet still keeps an innocent heart. From top scholar to prisoner, from frail scholar to soldier in armor, he has never let go through all the ups and downs of life. What I cannot forget is the young lord dressed in white as snow, reaching out to me and saying, "A-Man, I'll take you home." This life is fleeting as a mayfly. You are where I return. Reading guide: 1. This is a fictional setting with original worldbuilding. No historical fact-checking. The leads' names come from Du Fu's poem "Autumn Meditations": "Look at the moon among the wisteria on the stones, already shining on the reeds before Yingzhou." 2. Political intrigue, slow burn, and a mad second male lead. 3. The heroine's early revenge drives the plot. The story focuses on the leads supporting each other and growing together. 4. Career-minded heroine x love-minded hero, one-on-one romance, both leads' first time. 5. The original title was Where I Return. My new historical novel, Return to the Scabbard, is a story about two people who are both reborn. Princess Zhaoping of Jing'an, Zhao Pingzhi, lived a life that was glorious yet brief and heartbreaking. After seeing too much scheming and deceit, the person she thought of at the end was the clear-eyed boy she had met on Mount Mang. The boy was Ji Cheng, the "junior fellow disciple" she picked up while cultivating on Mount Mang. Sadly, Ji Cheng died three years ago. * After living her life again, Zhao Pingzhi sees Ji Cheng, who should have been dead. He is naive and gentle, just as he was before. Until one snowy night, just after the sky clears, melted snow drips from the eaves onto the steps. The young man wears a red court robe, his black hair tied up and secured with a silver crown. Handsome and distinguished, he has an innate air of nobility, like a broken bamboo branch dusted with snow, lofty and unattainable. Yet he lowers his head, his icy presence enveloping Zhao Pingzhi. "Senior Sister, long time no see." A thin blade rests against Zhao Pingzhi's face. In this dangerous yet intimate pose, the young man asks her younger brother, Zhao Heng: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, do you want the throne, or your dear elder sister?" [Male Lead's Perspective] Ji Xuan is a man who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of fire. Since birth, his world has known nothing but endless slaughter. At fourteen, Ji Xuan was saved by a young girl. He knew who she was. The Great Zhou's Princess Jing'an, Zhao Pingzhi. Ji Xuan keeps his distance from her and stays on guard. Yet after several years on Mount Mang, he still inevitably falls for her. For the sake of her words, "Wait for me to come back," he even patiently waits on Mount Mang. But Zhao Pingzhi never comes. Instead, her trusted confidant, who has served her for years, arrives with an uncountable number of elite soldiers and surrounds him. In the blazing firelight, the confidant looks at Ji Xuan, trapped at the edge of a cliff, as if he were a stray dog. "The palace has already issued an edict, betrothing Her Highness to the Yu family. The princess is a precious royal daughter. Why would she care about someone as lowly as you?" * Zhao Pingzhi saved him from the flames, then cast him aside like worthless trash. But the people she insists on protecting, have any of them ever truly cared for her? So in this reborn life, when Ji Xuan presses the blade against Zhao Pingzhi's face, he finally gets the answer he wants. Hearing Zhao Heng's reply, Ji Xuan laughs with delight. He neither calls Zhao Pingzhi "Princess" nor addresses her as "Your Highness." "Senior Sister, look. Even with another chance, he still chooses the Great Zhou dynasty's realm..." * When he was sixteen, someone once carved a flower onto his sword. The young woman had a calm expression, but her words were gentle: "Ji Cheng, I carved this flower on your sword. From now on, whenever you draw it, think of falling petals, and your murderous aura won't be so strong." She called him by another person's name, but Ji Xuan was still willing to lose himself in her for a lifetime. Take me through the wind and snow, and I'll give you a life without worries. From then on, the blade returned to its scabbard, and he bowed in submission. Theme: The nation belongs to all its people.