Swallow's Delight

[Upcoming story: A Summary of My Experiences Getting Married N Times (blurb at the bottom). Please add it to your reading list~]

Yan Yuan always thought that Lu Chen, the eldest son of the Marquis of Jingyuan's household, married her for her face, which bore a slight resemblance to that of her second elder sister, the wife of the heir to the Marquis of Jingyuan.

But Lu Chen was so proper and self-restrained that he never came within three paces of her sister when they met. Yan Yuan could just about convince herself that they could go on living like this.

Who could have guessed that after her sister suddenly became a widow and returned to live in the marquis's household, Lu Chen's visits to her grew more frequent? Barely a month after their child died, he was painting with her through a curtain and strolling joyfully with her among the lantern-lit streets.

Yan Yuan looked down at her still-flat belly, gritted her teeth, and carried a bowl of fruit yogurt to knock on the door of the study she rarely entered.

A divorce agreement fluttered before her eyes. The name "Lu Chen" was clearly written in ink at the bottom of the page. Yan Yuan understood the heart of the man before her and wept until her eyes were red.

Just a few days later, news that the eldest young madam of the Marquis of Jingyuan's household had fallen into a lake and drowned spread throughout the capital...

When Yan Yuan returned to the capital three years later, she arrived just as the throne changed hands. Lu Chen had risen to become the chancellor through his support of the new emperor, and her sister had signed a marriage contract with him. They would soon be wed.

She gritted her teeth in hatred. "He's a faithless bastard. I can't let him have an easy life."

So she ruined the wedding ceremony he'd spent ages preparing, encouraged him to sever ties with the Marquis of Jingyuan's household, and helped him reach an understanding with the new emperor, who suspected him, to have him exiled to the bitterly cold border region of Shangjiang.

But who could have guessed that one day Lu Chen would return? His blade cut across the new emperor's throat, and he also made her sister drink poison. On the bloodstained steps, Yan Yuan was the only one left who had known him in the past.

Looking at the man in imperial yellow, Yan Yuan closed her eyes and threw herself into Lu Chen's arms as if she had "missed him dearly." She had her daughter cling to his leg too. "Be good, Shengsheng. Hurry and call him Father."

The wedding of the emperor and empress was celebrated throughout the realm. A blunt minister submitted a memorial denouncing Yan Yuan as a remnant of the previous dynasty who should not be made empress.

Lu Chen didn't even look at the memorial. He tossed it straight into the silver brazier beside him.

"I am the one who can't live without the empress. I've had enough of life without her."

Reader's guide:

1. 1v1, both virgins. Set in an alternate Song-inspired world; no need to nitpick the history.

2. The elder sister is a bad person, and the male lead knows it. The scenes in the blurb where they paint behind a curtain and sign a marriage contract are revealed by the male lead as part of the truth. He does not cheat, and he wrote the divorce agreement under duress to protect the female lead.

3. The female lead is timid and tearful early on, but becomes cold and hard-hearted after faking her death.

_____ Divider _____

Upcoming story: A Summary of My Experiences Getting Married N Times. Please add it to your reading list~

After being reborn three times, Princess Feng Linglong of Funing finally discovered what was causing her repeated rebirths.

It was a man named Su Jinghan, the most famous merchant in the Dongyue region, and her sister's unexpected future husband.

Looking at the gold-embossed calling card in her hand, Feng Linglong remembered the soft wedding bed in the Su residence, soaked in blood before her last rebirth. She decided that in this life, she would keep Su Jinghan away from her sister...

Who could have known that this refined and cultured man, who seemed nothing like a merchant, was actually a twisted, obsessive madman?

To end her rebirths and protect her sister, she died in front of Su Jinghan six times. Every time, she died with her eyes open. At last, she finally got to see Su Jinghan die in front of her.

Feng Linglong watched as he lay across her knees, his lips trembling as blood gushed from his mouth like a spring. Summoning all his strength, he raised his head and looked into her eyes, starlight glittering in his shattered gaze. "Lingniang... In this life... the person I regret meeting least... is you..."

Rong Jin, Crown Prince of Dongyue, had been distinguished and brilliant since childhood. At five, he received his seal of office and took up residence in the Eastern Palace. But in the prime of his life, he was falsely accused of corrupting the imperial consorts, reduced to a hostage in an enemy state, and subjected to endless abuse.

Six years later, under the assumed name Su Jinghan, he became the wealthiest merchant on the banks of the Yueshui River. With a warm smile and kind heart, he helped people across the land, and countless commoners built shrines to worship him while he was alive.

Only Feng Linglong knew how much he despised his own acts of mercy and compassion.

[Su Jinghan, if you dare go one step closer to my sister, the gun in my hand will not show you any mercy.]

[Lingniang, in this life, you'd better love me until you die.]

Reader's guide: This is a classic, melodramatic historical romance, including but not limited to a substitute bride, amnesia, mistaken identity, stand-ins, misunderstandings, and love triangles. If these tropes aren't for you, don't read.

Theme: Have the courage to face your own heart