Widowed, She Became the Powerful Minister's Moonlight

As the eldest legitimate grandson of the Rong family, a prestigious clan with generations of official service, Rong Huaiyu was noble and refined, gentle as jade, and the most untouchable beauty in the capital.

When he came of age, a young cousin from the countryside arrived with a marriage contract in hand, seeking refuge with him.

The elders of the clan took back the token of betrothal, then ordered someone to beat her and throw her out.

That day, rain poured down in sheets. The young girl was covered in injuries, writhing in the mud from the pain as she struggled to reach out her trembling, slender fingers toward Rong Huaiyu.

He stood beneath the corridor, watching her with an impassive gaze, without saying a word.

Before the young girl limped away, her tearful eyes brimmed with indignation. "So much for a prestigious family. Even if you beg me on your knees someday, I still won't marry into your family."

Rong Huaiyu looked at her bitten lip and clenched the betrothal token in his long fingers: the jade pendant he had carved with his own hands.

After Jiang Yunzhi's parents died, she had nowhere else to turn and was taken in by one of her father's former students.

To repay his kindness, she married him and diligently took care of the household. She knew he loved someone else, but never complained.

Later, when her husband was promoted, she accompanied him to the capital.

But their good fortune did not last. Her husband committed an offense, and for the sake of her young child, Jiang Yunzhi had no choice but to seek help from the current chief minister.

She had heard that the chief minister was upright and incorruptible, dignified and scrupulous in his manners. Jiang Yunzhi did everything she could to get into his country residence, and finally managed to meet him.

But the moment she fell into his arms and saw his handsome face, she completely lost herself.

*

After her husband died, Jiang Yunzhi took her child to visit his grave.

Through the hazy drizzle, a gentle, refined gentleman came slowly toward her, holding an umbrella.

His gaze was dark and unreadable. In a hoarse voice, he asked, "Now that he's dead, can you come to my side?"

But she only patted the child's head and pointed at him, saying gently, "Call him Uncle."

When Rong Huaiyu fell on hard times as a young man, he once lived with relatives in the countryside.

His little cousin always lowered her eyes, gathered up her skirt, and obediently called him "Older Brother."

He had never paid her any attention.

But later, on a lonely night beneath a starless sky,

he knelt before her, gripping her wrist. His gaze held a feverish longing as he begged her humbly, "A Ning, please marry me."

*

He was the first glimpse of light that had captured her heart when she was young, the moonlight she cherished.

She was the cinnabar mole between his brows, the one he longed for deep into the night but could never have.

Optimistic, resilient, clear-minded beauty x self-restrained, proper, celibate powerful official

#In the surging crowd, let a hidden love be expressed to its fullest

#Drag him down from his pedestal, then cruelly tell him you don't want him

Content warnings

One-on-one romance, both leads have no prior sexual experience, happy ending

The untouchable beauty comes down from his pedestal; a reunion after a long separation, with both leads secretly in love; he pursues her after losing her

The heroine and her former husband have no romantic entanglement whatsoever; theirs was a purely practical relationship

The child is the hero's, though there are other circumstances involved, and the hero does not know this at first

The heroine only begins a romantic relationship with the hero after separating from her husband

At the beginning of the blurb, the hero fails to save the heroine for a reason; see the main story for details

First version published in July 2023

Theme: Cherish the person who is right in front of you