Splashed Jade

Xie Zhi, cousin to the ninth daughter of the Xie family, was frail with illness yet astonishingly brilliant, a peerless young powerbroker of his generation.

But Xie He did not like him.

As a child, she disliked how cold, quiet, melancholy, and sickly he was.

As an adult, she disliked how he sat alone on high, held the reins of the court, used ruthless methods, and eliminated his rivals, becoming The Outcast, a solitary minister second to none but the emperor.

Xie He thought that, to him, she was merely a cousin with whom he had little to do.

Later, she defied her cousin's objections and insisted on marrying the man she had chosen for herself, breaking with him in the process.

So, on the eve of her wedding, she heard that he had gone north with the army and reclaimed thirteen cities. She also heard that he had died of illness amid the heavy snow that year, never getting to see her in her bridal gown.

She could only sigh at the news.

But soon after, fires swept through the capital, followed by rebellion, disaster, and a palace coup. The Xie family fell, she was betrayed by her betrothed, and she became a prisoner.

She was saved by an imperial edict her cousin had secured years earlier.

Only then did she learn how the boy, pure as white jade, quiet and frail with illness, had painstakingly spent half his life making plans for her.

*

Reborn into another life, she gathered up her golden-threaded skirt and hurried along in her little shoes.

Ignoring her disheveled hairpins, she ran around the winding corridors to the secluded study.

Gazing at the blind boy in white sitting beneath the veranda,

she smiled through her tears and softly called, "Brother."

In this life, she would cast off her silk robes and step into the world of court politics, walking that difficult road alongside him.

Through wind and snow, mud and dust.

At last, when everything had gone as she wished, she put on the red wedding gown she had sewn herself. Among her many suitors, she chose the most suitable one and prepared to marry him.

...Unfortunately, she never made it to the altar.

That day was the Winter Solstice. Snow piled several feet deep, turning everything into silver and jade.

The young powerbroker stood before the steps, sleepless and tireless, willing to let frost and snow cover him from head to toe.

He still insisted on asking for his cousin's hand in marriage.

--

A radiant young noblewoman like rouge x a blind, frail young scholar-official

A pretend-siblings romance. The male lead is blind for a time, but will recover. Happy ending.

Blurb screenshotted on 2024.12.16

Theme: Love life