Snow Clears, Spring Shines

[Complete. New novel The Empress Has No Place for the Emperor in Her Heart is up for preorder. Please add it to your favorites!] Jiang Xuerong was a concubine-born daughter of the family. Though beautiful, all she wanted was to coast through life. There was only one reason: she had a mother who coasted through life too. The inner quarters were a battlefield, but her mother lounged in a rocking chair, eating homegrown watermelon and watching the commotion. She casually advised Xuerong, “Don't be like those women. Having food and drink is enough. Why bother dealing with men? What a foolish thing to do.” The women in other households would do anything to win favor, while her mother simply yawned and cracked melon seeds. Only when she was bullied too much and could no longer get by would she bring out the big guns: crying and acting coquettish for her father until he was so dazed he could barely think. One performance could keep him happy for half a month, and a single round of coaxing could work for nearly six months. Her mother taught Xuerong, “You shouldn't try too hard in life. Just do enough to eat well, drink well, and stay alive. When you get married, don't work too hard at it.” Xuerong took her mother's advice to heart and committed herself to coasting through life. That year, the Crown Prince held a selection for consorts. Her legitimate elder sister was confident she would be chosen, while Xuerong went with several other sisters to serve as a foil. Who could have guessed that her elder sister would be rejected while Xuerong was selected as a concubine for the Eastern Palace? Being the Crown Prince's concubine was fine too. It didn't matter where she coasted through life. Xuerong had no interest in winning his favor. While the other women schemed against each other, she grew vegetables and cooked in her little palace. It was delightful. She had no idea what had gotten into the Crown Prince, but he summoned her to his bed more and more often. After keeping him happy for half a month, Xuerong was exhausted. She came up with all sorts of excuses to turn him away. One day, when the Crown Prince came again, Xuerong confidently lay in bed with a hand warmer in her arms and sighed. “Your Highness, I don't feel well today. You should visit one of the other ladies.” The Crown Prince was silent for a long moment, then called her bluff. “What's wrong this time? This month, you've had a headache three times, back pain three times, and your period three times.” Xuerong: “...” She kept coasting along, and somehow ended up as Crown Princess. Later, when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he made her Empress and left the imperial harem empty for her. When people asked how she kept her husband in line, Xuerong, who had always coasted through life, replied, “Honestly, I didn't even want to be Crown Princess or Empress. It's exhausting.” Everyone else: “Can you stop acting like you don't know how lucky you are?” Preorder break The Empress Has No Place for the Emperor in Her Heart Wen Qingyi and Cheng Yunce were forced together by an imperial marriage decree from the late emperor. But Wen Qingyi did not like Cheng Yunce, and Cheng Yunce did not like Wen Qingyi either. To protect her family, Wen Qingyi had no choice but to become empress. But she had no interest in being empress, and even less in being Cheng Yunce's empress. He was cold, rigid, and stubborn, with no sense of romance. When the court officials requested that he expand the harem, Wen Qingyi was delighted and brought thirty consorts into the palace for him at once. She thought that with thirty of them, one for each day, Cheng Yunce would no longer need to visit her. She was being so generous, yet Cheng Yunce was still dissatisfied. He even said he would depose her. Wen Qingyi: “That's wonderful. But I've worked hard as your empress for all these years, so you should compensate me with something, shouldn't you? How about some gold and silver, plus a suitable husband? I think Minister Gu would do nicely.” Cheng Yunce: “...” Cheng Yunce: “Do you really not want to be my empress that badly?” Wen Qingyi nodded. Cheng Yunce was baffled. “Why? What have I done that displeases you?” Wen Qingyi: “Where do I even begin? Other than your face, what about you could possibly please me? You have no sense of romance, and all you care about is your government affairs... and you're bad at it.” Cheng Yunce thought for a moment. “I can change.” Cheng Yunce had always thought he and Wen Qingyi were a respectful and harmonious couple, until one day he suddenly heard that the empress had never had him in her heart. At first he did not believe it. But one day, despite his busy schedule, he still made time to visit the empress. She reacted as if facing a formidable enemy, quickly making up an excuse that her period had arrived and she could not attend him, then telling him to go to Consort Li's chambers. Cheng Yunce fell silent. He clearly remembered that the empress's period came regularly every month, and it was not due today. After that day, more and more evidence pointed to the truth: the empress really did not have him in her heart. Cheng Yunce grew angry and, in a moment of desperation, threatened to depose her. He thought Wen Qingyi would be furious, but she was overjoyed and even said she wanted to marry Minister Gu instead. Cheng Yunce could not understand. What had he done wrong? Why did she hate him so much? Wen Qingyi listed a whole string of his flaws, and Cheng Yunce decided to fix them one by one. All right, first he would go from bad to good. ◇1v1, both virgins, a demure act x an old-fashioned stickler Theme: Stay grounded and build a better future together.