The Diseased Plum Blossom

[The whole story has been carefully revised, with new romantic interactions and details. Thank you to all readers who support the official version!]

"The best way to walk through life is like playing chess. Regret and resentment are the worst moves."

In the eleventh year of Dayu, no one in the palace dared mention that year. It was a sore point the emperor would not tolerate.

But Li Zhi knelt beneath Wude Hall and tremblingly spoke those four words. What awaited her was a storm that swept her into the inescapable world of officialdom.

The praise she had received for nineteen years vanished

She became a sinner for all time.

From entering the palace as a female tutor, to opening schools for girls and earning the title of Scholar, to becoming the woman everyone called the Outer Minister,

her path had been full of hardships. Looking back in sudden realization, she saw that Xie Wulang, who had accompanied her for years, was standing with his hands behind his back, now on the other side from her.

In the eighteenth year of Dayu, in the depths of winter.

Beneath the curtain of rain, Xie Yu leaned forward and draped a cloak over her.

"A thousand people have cast me aside, and ten thousand curse you."

Outside the window, snow fell without end.

Li Zhi gathered her cloak around herself, curved her lips, and met his gaze in the mirror.

"Then we're well matched."

Reading guide:

1. The setting is inspired by the late Tang Dynasty. This isn't a wish-fulfillment story, and every character has a different sense of duty.

2. One-on-one, both leads have only each other, happy ending.

3. The pacing is very slow. The free chapters might be a little dull, and both leads start out immature. The main plot only gets underway after she enters the palace, so please be patient!

5. I'm obsessed with revising, and have rewritten many parts of the story.

6. The romance isn't tragic. At heart, it's a sweet little love story.

7. The heroine's love grows calmer with time, while the hero gets more and more aggrieved as he falls in love, a so-called green tea type.

8. "The mountains bear the snow; I shall stroke it" is adapted from Zhang Dai's Dragon Mountain Snow.

9. No subscription restriction on the sixth extra chapter.

Theme: If he is a clear plum, I will respect him; if she is a diseased plum, I will stay by her side.