Surely, Snow Covers Our Heads in This Mortal World

Everyone knows he is demanding and proud, and was less than pleased with the marriage arrangement made when he was young.

But no one knows that she is the moon before his hall, the flower in his mirror, and the elusive beauty of Mount Wu, never to be found again.

*

Their first meeting as children ended in a farce involving a fall into the water, making Ying Huaichu a future son-in-law to the princess.

The water was cool in early spring. Princess Guiyun helped him up, her eyes bright as a deer's as she laughed. "Big Brother, are you afraid of water?"

His heart pounded like a drum. He thought it was because he was embarrassed.

Later, shortly after their wedding, no matter how they tried, they couldn't draw an auspicious lot for the wedding hour.

But beneath the spirit tree covered in snow, they were both hit on the head with snowballs.

Everyone wished them a long life together, their hair white with age, but then he was suddenly pelted with snow down the back of his neck.

The culprit clapped and teased him. "Consort, are you afraid of the cold?"

His ears turned crimson. He thought it was because he was cold.

Many years later, he awoke beneath a crabapple tree.

Petals drifted through the air. He looked up against the wind and, in a daze, saw her shaking the branches, just as she had when they first met twenty years ago.

Only then did he realize it wasn't embarrassment, and it wasn't the cold. It was love at first sight.

[A delicate but ambitious princess, and a proper gentleman who cannot see his own heart]

******Advance Reservations******

"A Harem Life That Goes Off the Rails Starting with the Selection Show"

My name is Fu Rao, and my childhood nickname is Yuanbao. I am a noblewoman born into a family obsessed with raising its children to succeed, but I have no desire to "get ahead."

I have ambitions: money and freedom. I also have a flirtation with a local official who is about to be posted to Hangzhou.

The clan leader ordered me to enter the selection show. I wasn't willing.

According to my experience in my previous life, the emperor would die of illness within five years, while the man I was flirting with would rise to great heights, gain both fame and fortune, and eventually become one of the Three Dukes.

Rather than fight my way into becoming a lonely consort dowager, who wouldn't want to spend a lifetime with just one husband? Besides, the Three Dukes earn a much better salary than a consort dowager.

So I decided to give up, starting with the selection show.

*

My name is Rong Zhuoguang. I used to be called A Gou, and I am an unlucky emperor who transmigrated here from the modern world.

I know I'm doomed to die young. I had planned to muddle through and indulge myself in whatever happiness I could find during my short life.

Until I met my true love.

In that moment, I found meaning in life and decided to work hard for her, and, as a bonus, for the country.

First, I just had to get her into the palace.

Before the selection show, I worked out like crazy. On the day of the show, I dressed to impress. I thought it would be a romantic reunion with my beloved, but I never expected to spot such an oddball in the crowd.

She wore bird-dropping green, with a cracked imitation pearl hairpin on her head. Her eyebrows were heavily painted, and her lips were a thick, bright red. She looked thoroughly unhappy. She had been placed beside her legitimate elder sister, clearly arranged by those wicked relatives of hers to serve as a foil.

I would never allow the woman I loved to suffer. So, going against my conscience, I praised her in the most sincere tone I could manage:

"The illegitimate daughter of the Fu family is distinctive, knows how to save money, has a heroic air, and lips that promise prosperity. Keep her nameplate."

[Marriage first, love later... Whether he can win her heart depends on how he performs]

Theme: Aim high