Third Princess Long [The Lotus Lantern]

[This novel will enter its final volume on June 20]

[Pre-release: I Work as a Doctor in the Han Dynasty]

[Completed novel: Survival Guide to the Warring States, pairing with Ying Zheng]

She was the Third Princess of the West Sea, the apple of her parents' eyes.

He was a wanted criminal in the Heavenly Court, relying on his younger sister, and she on him.

An excursion at sea brought two people from utterly different worlds together. She admired his fearlessness in the face of death and his firm convictions; he admired her courage, free spirit, and concern for the world.

As they spent more and more time together, feelings quietly blossomed between them. But no matter how deep their feelings ran, they could only bury them in their hearts and never let them show.

She thought that being friends was fine. As long as they were both safe and well, that was all that mattered.

After the Investiture of the Gods was over, the two of them gazed at each other in silence.

After a long while, Ao Yu finally said, "Congratulations. You'll soon be reunited with your mother."

Yang Jian's Adam's apple bobbed. After a long pause, he finally said, "If there is a next life..."

Ao Yu raised a finger to Yang Jian's lips and said softly, "I know what you're going to say, Brother Yang. But we are both gods and bear great responsibilities. How could we do as we please? I only hope that the sea may turn into fields, and the stars may shift in their courses."

I hoped for that, hoped that the laws of Heaven might change.

Ao Yu turned her head, suppressing her feelings, and said gently, "Go, Brother Yang."

[Personal setting: The dragon race does not have to obey the Heavenly Law forbidding gods from falling in love, but dragons cannot fall in love with gods officially employed by the Heavenly Court.]

Pre-release blurb

After a streak of bad luck, Tang Xiyao traveled through time to a remote city on the western border of the Western Han Dynasty and became... a slave.

She had no lofty ambitions or desire to stir up trouble. She only wanted to escape her status as a slave as soon as possible and live a safe, peaceful life in this unfamiliar era.

Who could have guessed that one unexpected event after another would send her life of "minding her own business" completely off course? She took on more and more patients, and they grew more and more important. One careless mistake could cost her her life. After years of going from place to place, she finally decided to quit and run away.

But after making a trip to Shuofang, she ended up coming back.

Years later, after more than a decade of ups and downs in officialdom, someone asked her, "Why did you come back then?"

"If I left, I couldn't live with myself. In this life, I can't turn a blind eye to the countless people struggling between life and death, and I want to leave something behind to help those who come after me. To achieve both, I'll clear away every obstacle." Standing against the light, she looked like a lonely peak piercing the sky. "Even Heaven itself can't stop me!"

Theme: Taking responsibility for one's own duties