Entwined with You Beneath the Silk Canopy

[Soft-hearted freeloader, wild-dog war-god crown prince * gentle but strong-willed, sweet-tempered runaway concubine]

Chu Zhaoning was as beautiful as a hibiscus, gentle and kind, but stubborn by nature.

Her birth mother was a concubine kept in a separate residence. After being forced into marriage failed, she gave birth to Zhaoning and hanged herself. Because of that, Zhaoning swore that she would never sleep with a man without a matchmaker's arrangements, and would never share a husband with another woman!

When the mistress of the household promised her to a sixty-year-old royal relative as a concubine in order to send her legitimate younger sister into the palace, she fled to the capital under the name Song Lihua.

Du Zhenshan, a wealthy tycoon in the capital, fell in love with her at first sight and wanted to hire her as a tutor for his only son. He was a handsome, upright gentleman from a family whose wealth was beyond counting. Anyone with sense would know which choice to make.

Chu Zhaoning was sharp and perceptive. She accepted the position but rented a separate house.

She needed money to rent a house and hide a man: Zhang Yihu, a deserter.

On the way to the capital, he had struggled on foot while carrying her, gravely ill. Now his mother was dead, and his family had thrown him out. He had nowhere to go.

She had planned to keep him for three months, then urge him to find his own way once the Emperor issued an amnesty and pardoned him for desertion. But he kept luring her into his bed...

The Mid-Autumn moon shone bright, and the wine had gone to their heads.

He kissed her and pleaded in a trembling voice, "May I? Please!"

Bewitched and confused, she whimpered, "W-wait a little longer..."

Before long, autumn brought cool breezes, and the County Princess of Yunyang invited her to a chrysanthemum-viewing banquet.

Across the crowd, she saw the princess's fiance, Prince Qin, Li Jinnian, and froze on the spot. Why did His Highness look exactly like Zhang Yihu?

She returned home early and hid in a dark alley.

A luxurious carriage emerged from the dusk, then stopped quietly at the alley's entrance.

A man in brocade robes and a jade crown got out and knocked at the door. Two matrons inside bowed obsequiously. "Your Highness, the meal is ready, and the courtyard has been cleaned."

He said, "Go quickly. Whatever you do, don't let my wife see you."

When the door opened again, he had changed into plain clothes and hemp trousers. Carrying a lantern, he headed for the alley's entrance and stood there, craning his neck as he waited...

*

The eldest prince, Li Jinnian, was bold and frank. He dared to curse the Emperor and beat powerful ministers. Everyone feared him. After returning victorious from a great campaign against the Western Fan, he was praised across the court and the empire, and the Emperor arranged his marriage to the County Princess of Yunyang.

The princess was a peerless beauty, and he was a man of both literary and martial talent. They seemed made for each other.

Little did anyone know that beneath his imposing, handsome exterior were two hearts.

One sought to use the military influence behind the princess to become crown prince and avenge his mother.

The other was threaded with countless strands of love, all leading to the woman hidden in a separate residence: Song Lihua, the runaway concubine.

Earlier, when he heard that his mother was gravely ill, he defied orders and returned to the capital, where he was hunted. Under the assumed name Zhang Yihu, he took her hostage to help him pass through the checkpoints. Together, they had faced life and death along the way.

She looked as fragile as a flower, yet dared to kill for him. She looked so shrewd, yet fell for every lie he told.

She had a heart of iron and swore never to share a husband. If he told her who he was, she would surely run off in anger.

How could he force the person he cherished most?

He vowed to take a year to slowly simmer that pot of "raw rice" until it was cooked!

She came home late that day, so he ran to her and pulled her into his arms. "Your hands are freezing. Hurry and warm them inside my robe. There's braised pork offal for dinner, just the way you like it..."

They walked home together and sat across from each other beneath the lamplight.

She chewed slowly. "Tomorrow, I have to go on a trip with my employer."

He gently served her food. "Then come back quickly. I'm afraid to be home alone. There might be ghosts."

Reader notes:

1. The leads have only ever been with each other (the author's definition: someone is considered unfaithful only if they have been physically involved with a third party while married). The second male lead is a widower with a child. (At first, he sees the heroine as a substitute for his late wife, but that doesn't continue.)

2. Romantic rivalry, a groveling chase after the wife, taking her by force, rekindled love, and a large cast with political intrigue.

3. Set in a fictional dynasty, loosely modeled on the Tang.

[Bold, dazzling queen of the southern tribes vs. gentle, refined crown prince]

The King of Wumeng injured himself in his youth and was unable to father a child. After years of trying, his wife finally conceived, only to give birth to a daughter.

For years, Wusa had seized Wumeng's salt mines and monopolized its trade routes. The people of Wumeng had suffered for a long time, and desperately hoped the old king would have a son to restore Wumeng's glory.

The King of Wumeng sat all night holding his daughter, then, after steeling himself...

Eighteen years later, the young lord of Wumeng, An Yulong, had fought the young lord of Wusa back and forth without losing ground.

One day, An Yulong fell into a Wusa ambush. She leaped from a cliff and landed in front of a beauty fishing by the river.

An Yulong, who was flailing in the water with all four limbs spread wide to keep from sinking, was pulled closer by his fishing hook. He laughed and said to himself, "Did I catch a turtle?"

The "turtle" with the broken leg suddenly pressed a cold blade to his throat. "Carry me back so I can treat my wounds."

He really did carry her back. Under her fearsome authority, he treated her wounds and cooked for her, and they even unexpectedly spent a night together.

When her wounds had healed and she was ready to leave, she pinched his cheek and swore, "Wait for me. I'll come back and marry you."

He smiled like a flower. "If you want to marry me, come find me in the capital."

Three months later, An Yulong went to the capital to pay tribute and receive her title. She first went to the address the beauty had given her, but no such place existed, and there was no sign of the man, either.

She looked around in bewilderment, then made her way to the imperial hall in a daze.

The investiture ceremony went on in a steady stream. She thanked the Emperor for his favor, then the Crown Prince spoke. His voice sounded familiar.

She looked up, flew into a rage, sprang to her feet, seized a guard's golden melon hammer, raised it high, and charged at the Crown Prince.

"You little turtle, you bastard!"

*

Zhu Mingfeng's childhood name was "Baxia," the name of one of the nine sons of the dragon, a turtle.

After fishing up the dazzling, fierce young woman from the southern tribes, he had told her his name was "Jiang Baxia."

She was surprisingly familiar with the classics of the Han people and had kept calling him "Little Turtle."

This "turtle" was anything but little.

As the Emperor's eldest son, he had won glorious victories in three campaigns against the northern deserts. But when he returned, he lost the crown prince position, and the woman he loved became the Crown Princess.

So he asked the Emperor for a title and went to Shu to establish his own court, far from the scheming and intrigue. He spent several years traveling and enjoying the scenery.

Who could have guessed that the Crown Prince would die unexpectedly, and the Emperor would summon him back...

After a fierce contest for power and a storm of political upheaval in the capital, he accepted an arranged marriage and became the Crown Prince.

Not long afterward, the new King of Wumeng traveled thousands of miles to the capital to receive her title.

People said she was passionate and generous. After a month of lavishly treating everyone from top to bottom, the courtiers praised her as "the jade-faced little flying dragon."

On the day of the new King of Wumeng's official investiture, the more he looked, the more familiar this flying dragon seemed.

After a few polite words of welcome and encouragement, the flying dragon suddenly looked up at him, stood, seized the hammer in one smooth motion, raised it high, and charged straight at him.

Recognizing her, he came to his senses and sprang up in alarm, sprinting wildly through the great hall with his robes held up.

"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

Theme: Blessings come from having few desires, while troubles arise from wanting too much.