Reversing the Game

The historical fantasy novel next door, He Found His Happy Ending with His Dead Husband, is now underway.

A resilient, determined girl who seems sweet but hides a dark side × a principled gentleman who has died. The blurb is at the end. If you’re interested, I hope you’ll add it to your favorites. Thank you~

One brief meeting in their youth had left Zhao Xun unable to forget her.

That year, at the Great Xiangguo Temple, moonlight and flowers shone together in splendid harmony.

Beneath the soft moonlight, the young lady smiled, her bright eyes like stars. Even the pearls on her robe glittered in the lamplight.

But before he could ask her name, she vanished. He thought that perhaps she was the immortal depicted in the paintings at the temple fair.

Later, he finally learned her name.

But because of factional strife, he and her father were bitter enemies.

No matter. For the sake of their marriage, he was willing to take every insult without a word, and seize the right moment to win her father over.

But she was also betrothed to the top scholar, her childhood friend.

No matter. He would do everything he could to win her. If one attempt to get closer failed, he would try twice. If twice failed, then three times.

After all, he could debate the court officials without fear, and lead armies to war and pacify the realm. So what if he acted like a clingy, manipulative sweetheart behind closed doors?

There is no such thing as a marriage destined by heaven. A good match is something you have to fight for yourself~

[Plot-focused blurb]

With foreign enemies at the gates and treacherous officials lurking within, the flourishing Great Liang faced danger on every side.

To reverse the nation’s decline, Zhao Xun sought to introduce new policies, swimming against the current.

At first, Xu Yuhe wanted to avoid getting involved with him because of the conflict between the old and new factions. Only later did she realize that he was not as others claimed. They both shared the same concern for the people.

Peace bought with humiliation would never last. Negotiations and concessions would only embolden foreign enemies. Only a strong army and a thriving nation could stand tall and win lasting peace!

Reader's notes:

1. The setting is inspired by the mid-to-late Northern Song. The official system is modeled on the reforms of Yuanfeng, with some fictional elements.

2. The male lead is not based on a historical figure. Only after I had created him did I learn that Zhao Kai, the Prince of Yun and third son of Emperor Huizong, had also taken the imperial examinations and become the top scholar.

3. One-on-one romance, happy ending.

My next novel will be He Found His Happy Ending with His Dead Husband. Here is the blurb:

Song Shi had a childhood sweetheart, her betrothed.

He was proper and refined, warm as jade, and they had been in love since childhood.

But on the eve of their wedding, Song Shi received news of his death.

A former suitor came calling again, and her parents and brothers urged her to choose another suitable man. But she could not let go of their love, and insisted on marrying him while holding his memorial tablet.

From then on, everyone said that the young lady of the Song family had gone mad. Not only had she married a dead man, she spent every day praying to gods and questioning ghosts, hoping to bring her dead husband back to life.

One night, the wind stirred the red curtains and the candles dimmed. Behind the curtains, a hazy figure truly appeared.

But in a brief moment, the shadow vanished into the moonlight.

The last bit of hope in her heart was utterly extinguished.

Much later, her father and brothers were framed, and she was attacked by villains. Several times she came close to death, yet each time she escaped disaster.

Smelling the faint fragrance of lotus in the air, she suddenly understood: his spirit had always been by her side.

She thought that one person and one spirit together was not so bad. She feared neither the divide between the living and the dead nor the judgment of the world. To stay together was more than enough.

She thought she could fulfill her wish, but a truth she stumbled upon by accident drove her into a desperate situation.

That day, the wind and snow were fierce, and the world was blanketed in white. Gazing at the face before her, so familiar she knew it by heart, she smiled through pursed lips.

“I avenged you, Shao'an.”

His throat tightened. He gently raised his sleeve and wiped the blood from the face of the person in his arms. “Why... wouldn’t you let go of your obsession?”

A tear slid from the corner of her eye. “Someone burned his soul to prolong my life, and twice refused to pass on for my sake. I can’t let him down.”

He asked, “Then, would you marry me once more?”

The one I long for is far away, beyond the land of the Yellow Springs.

Cloud-wrapped mountains stretch endlessly, yet my heart reaches a thousand miles.

Reader's notes:

1. The setting is inspired by the transition between the two Song dynasties. The official system is modeled on the Song dynasty.

2. Neither lead is based on a historical figure. Although this is a second-chance romance, they never truly broke up. Happy ending, happy ending, happy ending.

3. Some of the ghosts and gods are inspired by the Qin bamboo slips from Shuihudi and Fangmatan.

Theme: Bring peace to the world for generations to come