Little Chong Mountain

My next book will be either Willow Threads or Stealing Spring. Comment with the title to go straight to the book. Whichever gets more favorites will be started first, so please take a moment to choose. Thank you!

[Princess of Noble Birth x Frontier Commander] Woman disguises herself as a man / marriage before love / age gap

Princess Yongjia is the youngest daughter of the emperor and empress, with exquisite beauty and an ethereal grace. Everyone wonders which noble house could possibly be worthy of such a princess.

In the twenty-seventh year of Cheng'an, Wei Changfeng, deputy general of Shoubei, launched a solo raid on the Jie people's royal camp. With one strike, he took the Jie prince's head, then returned to Shoubei unharmed. The whole empire was shaken. The emperor was overjoyed, promoted Wei Changfeng to a second-rank commander, and sent an edict to Shoubei rewarding him for his achievements.

The petition for a reward, sent at breakneck speed from the northern frontier, contained just one request: "I ask for Princess Yongjia's hand."

The court and common folk erupted in astonishment. The emperor was so furious his liver hurt, and raged in the Hall of Mental Cultivation for three days.

The princess shut herself away in her palace. Three days later, she entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"I will marry him," Chi Yi said, holding her chin high.

The imperial decree announcing the marriage was proclaimed throughout the land. But on the day the bridal finery filled the imperial city, Wei Changfeng was nowhere to be seen. Only a letter of apology arrived with the wedding procession.

The Wei family had served the empire for generations and won countless military honors, but twenty-four years ago they were destroyed over an old grievance. Only Wei Changfeng remained.

Wei Changfeng only wanted the princess to preside over his household, so his descendants wouldn't suffer the same fate. He didn't care what happened to the princess. The Helian family owed the Wei family, and it was only right for the children to pay their father's debt.

One day, a handsome young man arrived in Shoubei. His official speech was flawless, and his manners were refined. The strategist stroked his beard in admiration and took him on as an aide, but Wei Changfeng frowned, displeased. Pale-faced, red-lipped, slender and delicate: how could he withstand the blood and rain of the battlefield?

Underneath the army's turbulent currents and treacherous schemes, a mutiny nearly broke out. Yet the delicate aide pressed down on Wei Changfeng's hand as he reached for his sword, stood tall before him, and talked circles around the conspirators, holding his own against ten men and averting a bloody mutiny for Wei Changfeng.

Soon the Jie people invaded. The aide rode alone into enemy territory with nothing but a horse and a saddlebag, and brought back a hundred surrendering soldiers without losing a single man.

Wei Changfeng's gaze fell more and more often on that slender yet resolute figure.

He thought he might be going mad.

Wei Changfeng tried to cast aside his distracting thoughts and rid himself of feelings he ought not to have. Then he noticed that the man had no Adam's apple, and even had two tiny earring holes.

Perhaps "he" was actually "she"?

Wei Changfeng shook his head, feeling that he was going even more insane.

Disguised and using an assumed name, the aide was clearly suspicious. Wei Changfeng wanted to uncover his true identity.

Behind a screen, he saw the aide remove his hat and let down his hair, revealing the true appearance of a woman.

He appeared before the astonished woman as if dropped from the heavens.

He was about to demand an explanation when a maid beside him cried out, "Princess!"

Chi Yi froze, and Wei Changfeng was stunned too.

This time, he truly had gone mad!

After twenty years in the harsh, bitter cold of the frontier, Wei Changfeng had thought his life would be one mountain of hardship after another.

Then he turned and discovered someone was walking behind him, crossing one mountain after another at his side, each peak opening onto a wider world.

Beyond the hills, a vast plain stretched ahead.

- The male lead was once granted a marriage by imperial decree. He couldn't disobey the emperor, but the marriage never took place, and they only met a few times.

- The setting is an alternate Qing dynasty, with invented customs and culture. Men do not shave their heads. Please don't nitpick the details.

- One-on-one, both leads are sexually inexperienced, happy ending.

- The third book in the Great Qi Dynasty series. See the author's profile for the other works.

--- Upcoming: Stealing Spring ---

[Former Emperor's Selected Consort x New Emperor]

Sisters reborn / swapped marriages / both sexually inexperienced / cat companions / alternate Ming dynasty

In the spring of the eighteenth year of Xiping, the Yue family, a minor official's family in Gusu, had two reasons to celebrate.

Their eldest daughter, Yue Shu, married into the prominent Lian family in the capital. Their second daughter, Yue Ying, entered the palace as a candidate in the selection of imperial consorts, quickly making a name for herself and receiving the unprecedented title of concubine.

But before the Yue family had finished their celebratory wine, their splendid fortune fell apart. In the winter of the eighteenth year of Xiping, the emperor died. Concubine Yue was ordered to be buried with him because she had no children. The young master of the Lian family, a good-for-nothing, beat the pregnant Yue Shu to death while drunk.

The sisters died on the same day.

When Yue Shu opened her eyes again, she was back on the day her marriage was being arranged.

In her previous life, Yue Ying had thrown a tantrum and stolen her chance to enter the palace. This time, however, she made no fuss. Instead, she smiled and placed the decree summoning Yue Shu to the palace in her hands. "Entering the palace is such a blessing. Of course my elder sister should enjoy it."

Yue Shu stared coldly at her sister without a word, then turned to pack her things and followed the eunuch into the palace. Her younger sister, meanwhile, beamed as she accepted the Lian family's marriage proposal.

The emperor had no sons, so Prince Li, Fu Heng, the emperor's own nephew, was the only candidate to become heir.

In the eighteenth year of Xiping, as the emperor's health steadily declined, Fu Heng was ordered to enter the palace.

After reading late into the night at the Hall of Martial Valor, Prince Li grew sleepy and went out for a walk. Someone mistook him for a guard and begged him to climb over the wall into the imperial kitchens to steal her two pastries.

How strange. Was there really someone in the imperial palace who needed to steal pastries?

Fu Heng was wary. "Who are you? Where do you serve?"

Yue Shu straightened her back and made up a story. "I am His Majesty's beloved consort. My words are an imperial decree. Why does a mere guard ask so many questions?"

How amusing. Fu Heng, with nothing better to do, simply fetched two pastries for her. He watched her squat in a corner of the Garden of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, break the pastries into small pieces, and feed them bit by bit to a frail stray cat.

Fu Heng suddenly felt that palace life, so tense and tedious, was actually rather interesting.

Somehow, perhaps bewitched, "Guard Fu" became a trusted confidant of "Lady Yue." Every three days, they stole pastries together and fed the stray cats.

In the winter of the eighteenth year of Xiping, just as in their previous lives, the late emperor died.

But this time, the emperor hadn't yet had a chance to select his consorts from among the new candidates.

Yue Shu was left in an awkward position, neither a consort nor a servant. Fortunately, that meant she was spared from being buried with the emperor. By imperial order, she was moved to the Palace of Phoenix Calls, becoming a shadow in the palace who could be ignored by all.

On the first day of the first year, the day the palace staff paid their respects to the new emperor, Yue Shu looked up and saw a tall figure seated on the imperial throne. She was so frightened that she nearly lost her wits. Then she saw Lord Lian beside the emperor, wearing that gentle yet sinister expression, and she dropped to the ground, unable to get back up.

The young emperor was calm and approachable. He rose from the throne and helped her to her feet himself. "Miss Yue, please take good care of yourself." Then he lowered his voice. "If you fall ill, what will happen to the stray cats in the Garden of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility?"

Yue Shu fled in a panic. From then on, she shut herself away in the Palace of Phoenix Calls, not daring to step outside.

Later, snow piled high throughout the Forbidden City. The emperor made his way through the drifts to the Palace of Phoenix Calls and knocked on the palace door. "Miss Yue," he said, graciously lowering himself, "shall we go feed the cats?"

After a long while, Yue Shu's muffled voice came from inside. "Get Lord Lian out of the palace, and don't let him come back. Then I'll go feed the cats with you."

The emperor was surprised. Lian Yicheng seemed gentle, but was actually violent and narrow-minded. He had already been planning to demote and dismiss him.

"It's a deal!" The emperor's voice lowered again. "The stray cats say they've missed you for a long time."

Theme: Mutual trust