[Female Lead's Growth: A Timid Court Historian → A Powerful Minister; Male Lead's Growth: A Cold General → A Devoted Husband]
Xiao Yiluan, a court historian at the Imperial Writing Office, has been secretly married for two years, but has only seen her husband once. He left to lead an army on a campaign.
The good news: Her husband's mother told her, "This family fortune will all be yours someday."
The bad news: Her husband has returned victorious, and word is that there's someone else by his side?
The handsome young general Xie Xun married in haste at his mother's insistence, just before setting out on campaign two years ago. He'd barely had a chance to look at his new bride on their wedding night before military orders summoned him away.
*
With Xie Xun about to return, the Imperial Writing Office receives an order: draft a congratulatory address, and slip in a warning while they're at it.
Diligent Xiao Yiluan seizes the opportunity to get a little revenge. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's good.
On the day Xie Xun returns, he grits his teeth through the pointed message in the address, then wisely hands over his military tally.
This leaves Xiao Yiluan on edge. But then she receives a jade pendant from Xie Xun, and her imagination runs wild.
When they run into each other, Xie Xun spots the pendant and teases her. "That kind of pendant has a rather ominous meaning. At best, it brings marital discord; at worst, a lifetime of loneliness."
Xiao Yiluan: ????
She angrily takes the pendant to a pawnshop, makes a fortune, and even gets a house out of it.
Xie Xun, who happens to be browsing in the pawnshop, is heartbroken. "Shopkeeper, I want to redeem that."
*
Later, Xiao Yiluan rises steadily through the ranks at the Imperial Writing Office, while Xie Xun's inner monologue goes like this every day: Is she coming home today? When is she ever coming home?
Xiao Yiluan: Busy. Do not disturb.
And Xie Xun discovers that the Crown Prince, whom he has devoted himself to supporting, is actually coveting his wife?
My next historical romance, Camellias in Bloom, is coming soon. Please add it to your favorites!
The daughter of an official, Ling Zhiyan, is noticed by the Dowager Consort of Zhanyang. Through the dowager's matchmaking, she meets Xiao Tan, a carefree, refined, and guileless prince of a fief.
Clear-headed and reserved, Ling Zhiyan never intended to marry into a noble household. But Xiao Tan falls for her at first sight, and after their paths cross again and again, Ling Zhiyan is finally moved.
Xiao Tan is overjoyed and makes plans for their engagement, but complications arise when their birth charts are matched.
With undercurrents swirling through the court and the dowager throwing a wrench in the works, Ling Zhiyan is supposed to accompany her parents to take up a post on the coast. Unexpectedly, Xiao Tan rushes over to bring her back and lodges her in the residence of his most trusted friend, Sikong Min.
Before long, the townspeople are all saying that Xiao Tan spends every night at Sikong Min's residence. Could the two of them have a taste for men?
Ling Zhiyan knows, however, that Sikong Min rarely comes home. On the occasions she sees him, she senses that he has a lot on his mind...
*
After enduring life's bitter turns, Ling Zhiyan reluctantly gives herself to Xiao Tan. Yet when she needs him, he suddenly vanishes without a word.
Just as she is losing hope, the ever-mysterious and elegant Sikong Min takes the opportunity to confess his feelings.
At a banquet, Sikong Min escorts Ling Zhiyan to her seat. Beaming, he introduces her to the guests: "This is my concubine. She is with child."
Everyone laughs, thinking that Sikong Min isn't a man who loves men after all. Then they realize something doesn't add up: if so, why does Xiao Tan stay overnight at the Sikong residence?
From his seat of honor, Xiao Tan, whose wounds have only just healed, crushes the wine cup in his hand. He glares at Ling Zhiyan nearby, then asks Sikong Min, enunciating each word: "Say that again. Who is she?"
*
Xiao Tan loses everything in a single night. He thought he couldn't go on, but he still has one wish: to return to her side, even if she belongs to someone else now...
Theme: Always face yourself and others with sincerity.
Why doesn't the prince here directly explain to the male protagonist that it has nothing to do with him, tell the male protagonist what the female protagonist is in the East Palace, and give him an explanation in front of the male protagonist? Otherwise, the male protagonist will hate him regardless of whether he has anything to do with him or not.