Moonlit Nights in Jinhua

[Check out my new novel, Please Let Me Make It Through!]

A future wasteland setting. The heroine starts with nothing and adventures her way to the top. Coming in August.

This story has a fairly bleak, oppressive tone. It is not a wish-fulfillment harem story, though the heroine is at the center of a harem. There is no wish fulfillment, and everyone gets a bad ending. If you really can't stomach that, take this warning and move along, kid... There's no need to stubbornly stick around and suffer...

“Speaking of Emperor Gaozong, it is said that an immortal enlightened her, granting her eternal life. She ruled for fifty years, with countless consorts in her harem, yet somehow never chose an empress. Why do you think that was?”

The third emperor of Great Chu, whose personal name was Shang Shuyao and whose reign title was Gaozong, ruled for fifty years. Later generations bestowed upon her the title of “Romantic Emperor,” and tales of her exploits have been told endlessly in teahouses.

Official historians recorded her literary and military prowess. At home, she encouraged commerce and agriculture and carried out reforms; abroad, she subdued the northern steppes, and all nations came to pay tribute. She was surrounded by renowned generals and worthy ministers in life, and left behind two centuries of peace and prosperity after her death.

And yet she died alone, disbanding her harem and leaving the throne to an imperial daughter whose father was unknown.

Some say she loved the bewitching consort from the northern steppes most, but their different origins meant he could never be made empress.

Some say her heart belonged to the side consort whose name had been erased. The two were deeply in love, but he was the descendant of a disgraced minister and could never be given a title.

Some say she once left behind a lover among the common folk, but their difference in status kept their relationship hidden.

Some say she loved a former minister of the late emperor, but fate kept them apart, and they could only gaze at each other for the rest of their lives.

Others, more daring, speculate that she secretly carried on with the unmarried chancellor. But theirs was a relationship between sovereign and subject, a love that could never come to fruition.

Dynasties rose and fell, and at last these romantic tales became teahouse stories, passed down in books by scholars.

Some unknown beggar: Get a new manuscript already. You're all just making things up.

*****Character Introductions*****

Heroine No. 0:

A cheerful little ray of sunshine in her early years, and a wise, benevolent ruler in the eyes of the people. The main timeline follows her later years, as a dark and cold middle-aged emperor, a human embodiment of Machiavellianism. In short, please support the heroine.

Male Lead No. 1:

A merchant from Great Qin, a happy-go-lucky puppy. The late emperor had him executed because he was born into humble circumstances. A cinnabar mole with no name.

“I love you, but I can't give you a title.”

Male Lead No. 2:

A cool, beautiful side consort. He became the emperor's tutor at fourteen after earning the top score in the palace examination, and spent twenty years keeping vigil in an empty palace before meeting a violent end. The white moonlight.

“I still want to... see you again...”

Male Lead No. 3:

A noble-born young lord, once promised as the Crown Prince's consort. Handsome, virtuous, and gentle, he became the descendant of a disgraced minister and was sentenced to death along with his entire family. He endured for twenty years, but eventually lost his looks and the emperor's favor, leaving the palace with no choice.

“Every day of my life as your consort, I have been waiting.”

Male Lead No. 4:

A young general who made a name for himself early, but died young amid courtly rivalries, meeting a violent end.

“When I return, I wish to ask for a favor.”

Male Lead No. 5:

A prince sent from a foreign people to cement an alliance through marriage. Cold on the outside but warm within, loyal and devoted, he falls in love with the heroine at first sight, though he's stubborn to the core.

“She can't leave the palace, so I'll go back and stay with her.”

Male Lead No. 6:

A chancellor who placed third in the palace examination. Their love is mutual, but fate keeps them apart. For the sake of his ideals and ambitions, he has no choice but to bury his feelings deep inside.

“Your servant can only die.”

*This male lead is a Platonic love interest.

Male Lead No. 7:

A dark, obsessive ghost of a man. The heroine arranged for the late emperor to take him as a consort. After the heroine ascends the throne, he first becomes a monk and later enters public service, doing everything he can to drive off the other men.

“When have you ever looked at me?”

*After the late emperor's death, this character first becomes a Daoist and then enters public service. His public identity is no longer that of the late emperor's consort, so please enjoy without worry.

*****Reader Advisory*****

1. The political scheming is a subtle undercurrent, while palace intrigue is barely present.

2. There are multiple male leads, with no single definitive male lead. Some male leads will exit the story partway through, though not necessarily by dying. The story will continue, because the heroine is its absolute center.

3. This is not a matriarchal or female-dominant society. Men are not subordinate. Society is in transition toward women's rights: the late emperor was the first female emperor, and there are female emperors and chancellors, but also male officials, some of whom have multiple wives. The setting is a very mixed social system.

4. Women bear children. The heroine really will have children, and there are also childbirth storylines involving supporting characters. After all, the family really does have a throne to pass on.

5. This is not a wish-fulfillment story! Men, women, and even the air itself will suffer. Bitterness, oppression, and longing without fulfillment are the story's defining mood. Most of the male leads meet violent ends, and the heroine gets none of what she wants. In the end, what she wishes for is not what she receives, and she dies alone.

No heroine-bashing. The heroine is the core of this story. If you tear her down, the whole world of the story will collapse, so no heroine-bashing.

I only take responsibility for the official edition. I'm painstakingly polishing it, slowly but surely. If you read pirated copies, don't come here to pick a fight.

Theme: Parting from those you love, meeting those you hate, and longing for what you cannot have.