My Husband and I Share a Telepathic Bond (Reborn)

Composed, self-possessed beauty × the top scholar, like a gentle spring rain

[Young married couple / Courtly power struggles / Love across two lifetimes / Marriage before love]

In the fourth year after Xie Lingxi married Prince Jin, the man who shared her pillow ascended the throne.

Though she was honored as empress, in truth she was a caged bird confined within the deep palace.

The emperor's suspicions led her father to hang himself in prison, her elder brother to die a tragic death on the northern frontier, and her mother, overcome with grief, to follow them in death.

At that time, mountains collapsed and rivers ran dry. A century-old aristocratic clan was destroyed overnight, while nobles and humble scholars alike scrambled to serve their own interests. Instead, she turned the tables on Prince Jin and ruined his dream of eternal glory.

Just when all hope had faded, Heaven granted her a second life. When she opened her eyes again, she was young once more.

*

With a beauty that brushed flowers and reflected snow, and a reputation for poetry and wine that astonished the world, everyone in Chang'an knew the third young lady of Minister Xie's household. Newly come of age, she was the lotus fairy in everyone's heart, too sacred to profane.

But one day, this fairy was finally made to bend, tainted by the scent of another young man.

Liu Xu, courtesy name Chengzhi, was a newly named top scholar from a humble family. His bearing was like spring flowers and autumn moons, his handsome face concealing a tender, compassionate heart.

One day, the young man suddenly fell from a rooftop and crashed into Xie Lingxi's arms.

That was the beginning of a doomed romance.

He had barely caught her in his arms before swearing he would marry her. Xie Lingxi thought, How can he have it both ways so easily?

She wanted a path entirely different from the one she had taken in her previous life: one that would keep the Xie family from earning a tarnished name and save her loved ones from losing their lives. Beyond that, she wanted nothing to do with love.

But through one twist of fate after another, Liu Xu insisted on pursuing her.

Pressed from all sides, Xie Lingxi was forced to marry him.

She had intended for them to mind their own business and be a distant, courteous couple in name only. But one night, Liu Xu took her hand, a fine sheen of sweat covering his neck, his eyes damp and red. "Why do you smile so beautifully at other men?"

Later, when Prince Jin pursued her relentlessly, Liu Xu went mad and tore off her clothes, then lowered his head to beg her. "...Lingxi, look at me."

In the dead of night, she finally understood: this drifting willow fluff of a man had spent the rest of his life scattering for her in their previous life. One glance across the banks of Qujiang had destined them to be bound together for lifetime after lifetime.

P.S.

1. The setting is fictional. Forms of address, official systems, and so on take inspiration from the early Tang, and are all in service of the story. Please don't nitpick the details.

2. The plot and romance are balanced equally, with a substantial political intrigue storyline.

3. Enjoy reading! ^ ^

**Advance notice: After Your Highness Begins and Abandons Me. Blurb follows.

Yun Ning grew up in the Cold Palace like a weed, frail and thin, someone anyone could kick and bully. After her mother died, she came to Jiyang Commandery, where she was unexpectedly taken in by the Lin family master, who claimed to be her maternal grandfather. On her very first day at the estate, she was given a hard time.

The Lin household was full of scheming and undercurrents. The third young lady was hypocritical, the fifth was jealous, and Yun Ning was caught between them when she heard terrible news: the Lin family intended to marry her off to the county magistrate's naturally dim-witted second son!

Unwilling to marry him, she found a man and put on an act with him.

Yan Yingzhi was exceptionally handsome and refined, and claimed to be a young master of the Yan family of Jinling, visiting Jiyang to gather material for a book. As soon as he entered the estate, everyone fawned over him and took a liking to him.

But Yun Ning knew it was all an act.

He was as good to her as he could be in public, but behind closed doors he behaved wickedly. A young woman, pure as flawless white jade, was thoroughly devoured, body and soul, until she could no longer sleep at night for thinking of him.

Their affection blossomed in secret, and they seemed a perfect match. It should have been a beautiful love story.

But on Yun Ning's birthday, she saw Yan Yingzhi coming out of another woman's boudoir. The thing he casually tossed aside was her most beloved green jade bodhi bead.

So that was how it was: with the advantage of being close at hand, he had chosen to pluck someone else's moon.

Heartbroken, she left him a letter ending their relationship and sat by the Ji River all night. Time had changed everything. The tranquil water and gentle moonlight that had surrounded them when they first met now flowed through the withered reeds of winter. No matter how deep their feelings had been, all that remained was ash.

A foreign land could never be home, and the man she had met was no true love. Yun Ning had no strength left to keep entangling herself with him, nor did she want to hear his excuses. Without waiting for another day, she hurriedly packed her things and returned to Chang'an.

*

In the fourth year of Xuanhe, foreign states came to pay tribute, and the emperor hosted a banquet to bring guests together through the six arts and eight elegant pursuits.

Yun Ning was ordered to oversee the event.

The envoys from Li were numerous. In their free time after meals, they often spoke of the splendid prosperity of Ying, the imperial capital. Yun Ning spoke of Chang'an, but in her heart she could not help remembering the lover named Yingzhi whom she had met by the Ji River all those years ago.

Perhaps she missed him too much. One day, as she leaned against the balustrade and sighed, she saw a white crane by the water dipping its head up and down. Beneath the willows on the riverbank, a face appeared before her, achingly familiar and utterly hateful... a face that had haunted her dreams.

She stood stunned for a quarter of an hour, then asked her palace maid, "Who is that?"

The maid replied, "That is His Highness, the Regent of Dongli."

Yin Ruyan, Regent of Dongli, was said to be a vicious and cruel man with a snake's heart. He had murdered his father and brother to seize the throne. On the day he took power, the corpses of ministers and concubines had piled up as high as a mountainside, their blood flowing down in streams like melting snow.

Just a few days ago, he had cut out a scholar's tongue because a compliment had displeased him.

But... why did this man look exactly like Yan Yingzhi?

At that moment, Yin Ruyan also lifted his eyes. As though he had seen a rare treasure, he slowly revealed a most captivating smile. Between them lay red lotuses in full bloom. Yun Ning stared blankly for a long while, then asked, "Have you ever been to Jizhou? Did you know a young lady surnamed Yun?"

"I am already married."

"Ah..." Yun Ning drew her hand back and clutched the hem of her clothes. "I must have mistaken you for someone else..."

Before she could finish, the young powerful official arched his brows flirtatiously and bent down to pinch a lotus flower. The tips of his fingers crushed its rosy juice. Yun Ning's heart trembled. She could almost feel that hand pressing against her waist through the thin gauze...

The man spoke softly, his gaze thoroughly wicked. "My wife deceived me and abandoned me. She is the most faithless woman of all. I want to seize her, but I have been unable to find any trace of her. Today, upon seeing Your Highness, I realize there is another person in this world with such breathtaking beauty."

"Even though she began our relationship and abandoned me, I still love her face. Why not invite Your Highness to my bedchamber to ease the pain of my longing for her?"

P.S.

1. One couple, both sexually inexperienced, one-on-one. The male lead's name is Yingzhi.

2. Two little bitter melons fall in love. Both had tragic pasts, and the male lead isn't a truly virtuous, perfect man. He was simply driven mad by circumstances, though he isn't that bad either; there is a difference in perspective. The male lead never changes his heart, and the female lead isn't being unreasonable. Their love and resentment stem from a misunderstanding.

Theme: Believe in love and hope.