Two Hearts as One

[My new novel, After Picking Up a Down-and-Out Minister, is now available. Please add it to your reading list!]

It wasn't until Liu Shunhua married into the Chancellor's household that she realized she was nothing but a prop.

Her husband wanted to marry the woman he loved, and coldly watched as Liu suffered humiliation in the inner quarters.

Only He Xuandu, her cold and aloof younger brother-in-law, who was disabled, treated her as both a teacher and a friend.

He brought her a lamp on a rainy night, taught her to read and understand the world, and told her, “The world is vast. You don't have to be confined behind the walls of a woman's quarters.”

A great fire broke out at the Chancellor's residence, and Liu Shunhua died in the flames.

Reborn at sixteen, she excitedly ran to the Chancellor's residence.

But there she saw He Xuandu, who in her previous life had been bright and spirited, holding a feather fan and dressed to the nines, with... both legs perfectly healthy.

Liu Shunhua ran up to him in delight. “Your legs? Your legs?”

He Xuandu recoiled in horror. “Help! Someone save me! A female lecher is molesting me in the street!”

Liu Shunhua: ...He Xuandu's legs had healed, but it seemed his mind had broken.

He Xuandu had seen the world's cruelty from a young age. He was indifferent and cold-hearted, his face hidden behind who knew how many masks.

Then, on a spring day, among countless willow branches flourishing in the breeze, he met Liu Shunhua.

At first, when he saw her deliberately trying to get close, he only wanted to scare her away.

But later, she helped him get rid of trouble, kept him company while he bet on crickets and roamed around, and gave him little handmade trinkets to amuse him...

Later still, he broke his leg and traveled a thousand miles back to Chang'an.

All he could think was: Even if I have to crawl, I have to see Liu Shunhua.

[Reader's Guide]

1. Some characters in the story are inspired by historical figures, but the setting is fictional. Please don't overanalyze the historical details.

2. Both leads are virgins; happy ending. The first half is sweet, while the second half has a little angst, mostly for the male lead. There is a plot, especially in the later chapters, so please consider carefully before buying the complete novel. If it's not for you, stop reading in time.

3. The heroine is gentle, clear-headed, and perceptive. The hero is a rebellious, calculating little dog.

4. The heroine's name, Shunhua, means hibiscus; the hero's name, Xuandu, means moon.

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After Picking Up a Down-and-Out Minister

On the first day after Song Yuhe was reborn, she found a man outside her shabby house.

Amid the shadows of fading flowers, the man was covered in wounds and barely breathing, yet his face was dazzlingly handsome.

Though cold and taciturn, he was honest and dependable. He chopped wood and cooked, did the laundry and cleaning, and repaired the roof.

And with his broad shoulders and narrow waist, just standing in the yard made the shabby house look more romantic.

Song Yuhe took a liking to him. Under cover of night, she blushed and steeled herself to say, “Stay. I'll take care of you.”

Beneath the moonlight, the man said nothing, his face cold as a jade statue of a bodhisattva.

Song Yuhe: ...Fine. There's plenty of time. I'll warm his heart eventually.

Until one day, she accidentally caught sight of the jade pendant he wore close to his body.

Song Yuhe's vision went black, and she nearly fainted on the spot.

The man was Zhao Yuan Yin, the future powerful court minister who would commit every evil under the sun and eventually vanish without a trace.

In her previous life, he had been an accomplice in the death of the person who killed her!

Song Yuhe briskly packed his things for him. “Off you go!”

**

Zhao Yuan Yin made his name as a young man, decisive and ruthless, and was the most trusted man under the rebel king.

After falling on hard times, he was taken in by a delicate young woman who put him to work as a servant.

He couldn't cook rice properly or wash clothes clean, yet he shamelessly said he would take care of her.

He scoffed: A great man should not live under another's thumb, and certainly not under a woman's.

Later, he watched as she efficiently packed his belongings.

Zhao Yuan Yin gazed at her coldly, a chill rising around him. She really wanted him to leave that badly?!

He bent down and braced his hands on either side of her, shrouding her in shadow.

“It's easy to invite a god in, but hard to send one away. It's too late to ask me to leave now.”

Theme: Cherish the present and love bravely.