Historically, Chancellor Xiao Yanqiao was upright and incorruptible in his early years, destined to be remembered for generations. Later, he attached himself to the notorious Princess Changhua, Lady Li, becoming her secret lover, hidden from public view. In the end, it cost him his life.
People of the time all lamented, "A noble clan of nine generations, destroyed because its scion was trapped by love. How tragic!"
Husband and wife are birds in the same forest, but when disaster strikes, each flies their own way, let alone a couple bound by a fleeting affair, with neither virtue nor shame.
The cold-hearted Princess Changhua refused to attend his funeral, saying only that he had deceived her from the start.
Li Fangxi, a university student in the Republican era, came across this story while organizing historical records in the library. From then on, she had admired Xiao Yanqiao from the bottom of her heart.
But whenever she thought of his love affair, she couldn't help reflecting: What romance? Wasn't he just the princess's spare tire?
One day, Li Fangxi woke up having transmigrated to the Great Yao of the third year of Yong'an. That year, Xiao Yanqiao was merely a county lieutenant in Luoxi.
In a narrow, rain-soaked alley, Li Fangxi ducked under his umbrella and warned him:
"Don't go to the Banquet of the Dark Moon in the third year of Qingluan. As for Princess Changhua, she may never love you."
*
In the third year of Qingluan, on an auspicious day in the first month, the Empress Dowager, acting as regent, held the Banquet of the Dark Moon to choose a new consort for the princess. Xiao Yanqiao attended and met Princess Changhua, newly widowed.
As Xiao Yanqiao gazed at her in mourning clothes, he couldn't help remembering the little girl who had hidden beneath his umbrella in both his lives, soaked to the skin.
He had blundered through his life. Only now did he realize that the girl who had searched every street and alley for him in the rain was the cold, distant princess who had sworn she could never love him.
Reborn for a second life, he didn't heed Li Fangxi's advice. In front of everyone, he took her hand.
*
#What's it like when a career-minded chancellor becomes love-struck after being reborn?
#Thanks for asking. I'm at the princess's residence, just got out of her bed.
[A chancellor determined to marry into the royal family x a princess determined to fight feudalism]
Perhaps an idol and fan finding their way to each other?
2.21
*
Female lead is not a virgin; male lead is. One-on-one romance, happy ending.
The male lead is reborn, and in both lives he loves the female lead after she transmigrates.
The female lead only loves the male lead. The matter of the princess's consort will be explained later.
[An imaginary Tang Dynasty setting. All characters and events are fictional, so don't read too much into it.]
The line in the blurb, "A noble clan of nine generations... How tragic!" is adapted from Ouyang Xiu's New Book of Tang, "Xiao Zhizhong."
(I need to find my feel for this story. I expect to update in May or June.)
Theme: Who should bear responsibility for the rise and fall of a dynasty?
