The Princess and the Imperial Tutor

Li Baoyin is the Southern Zhou emperor's most beloved legitimate princess.

The Southern Zhou emperor and empress had no children, and none of the consorts had any either. Little Princess Baoyin grew up surrounded by everyone's affection.

At the time, Northern Chen had a powerful army, while Southern Zhou was no match for it. Northern Chen therefore insisted that Princess Baoyin travel north as a hostage.

Baoyin thought her fate would be utterly miserable, held hostage in the Northern Chen palace.

Who knew that once she arrived in Northern Chen, she would run into someone from her past?

As a child, she had studied under a renowned scholar, alongside his closed-door disciple, Xie Qi.

Later, the scholar set off to travel the world and took Xie Qi with him.

As Baoyin looked at Xie Qi, now the tutor to Northern Chen's young emperor, her joy at reuniting with an old friend gradually faded.

Rumor had it that the Northern Chen imperial tutor was strict and demanding. Even the young emperor himself would get his palm rapped if he couldn't answer a question.

She had been quite the mischievous child, often getting into trouble and then pinning the blame on Xie Qi. His master had beaten him many times, leaving his hands swollen.

Baoyin looked at her own delicate hands, close to tears. Northern Chen treated her just like the other hostages, so she would have to study alongside the young emperor, too.

If the young emperor couldn't answer, everyone would get beaten together.

When Xie Qi's deep, unreadable gaze fell on her, little Princess Baoyin's heart sank. Was he going to get revenge by beating her hands until they were ruined?

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Fifteen-year-old Princess Baoyin had been pampered her whole life. She had never known how much it hurt to have the skin on her palm break.

She shut herself in her room and cried, like a little beast licking its wounds alone.

Someone picked the lock and opened the door.

Little Princess Baoyin looked up through her tears. It was Xie Qi.

Xie Qi was six years older than her. When she was little, she used to sweetly call him "Brother Xie."

Now, looking coldly at Xie Qi's somber expression, she asked, "What business does Lord Xie have with me?"

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In public, Xie Qi was reserved and inscrutable, a stern imperial tutor who never readily showed his emotions.

But when he saw the noble little princess he had cherished and protected since childhood,

he clenched his jaw, his deep, complicated gaze roiling like a sea of clouds, his presence as vast and overwhelming as a storm.

Xie Qi came over and held the little princess. When Baoyin struggled, she touched the wound on his hand.

Someone had beaten his hand until it swelled. It hurt so much that he sucked in a breath at the slightest touch, and Baoyin did not dare move again.

She saw the red in his eyes. His voice was low and resolute: "Baoyin, I'll take you home."

You don't need to sneak away. You don't need to compromise.

I'll send you back to Southern Zhou openly and honorably.

The treasure I once held in the palm of my hand has returned to me. No one can stop me from running to you.

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"The Widow and the General"

Blurb: Lu Yun was the eldest legitimate daughter-in-law of the Duke of Rui's household. She became a widow only a year after her wedding.

Everyone said she should remain loyal to her late husband and preserve the family line as the eldest branch of the Duke of Rui's household. She should never marry again.

But she and her late husband had no children. Was she supposed to spend her whole life alone in an empty house, adopt a child, and live cautiously at the mercy of others?

Everyone said that Lu Yun, the eldest legitimate daughter-in-law of the Duke of Rui's household, was gentle as a doll. She got along with everyone and offended no one, making her the most popular person in the household.

As a widow, she didn't even have to manage the household. She spent her days playing with the young masters and ladies, living a life fit for the immortals.

Only Lu Yun herself kept thinking: Who would want a life like that? If Wu Linyuan were still alive, she would be with him on the frontier now, guarding the borders, riding horses and training hawks, roaming freely beneath the open sky.

But Wu Linyuan was dead. He had died the year before their betrothal, just after turning eighteen. The undefeated young general had left no body behind, and she had been left alone, clutching the Wu family's returned betrothal jade pendant before marrying into the Duke of Rui's household.

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They say the dead can truly come back to life.

Or perhaps Wu Linyuan had never died at all.

He had returned alive.

At a flower-viewing banquet, the noble young ladies mocked Lu Yun for her lonely widowhood, saying she was fated to go unloved her whole life. She had married only to bring about her husband's death, and would have to spend the rest of her days in the duke's household atoning for it.

Their words had barely faded when a nimble figure dropped from the high eaves: a young general clad in dark armor.

Wu Linyuan stood beside Lu Yun, one hand on his sword. His black-and-gold cloak, dusted with yellow sand, brushed against the hem of her pale skirt.

"Who says my Sister Lu is lonely through the long nights?"

The young general raised an eyebrow with a teasing smile. "I climb through her window every night, hoping for a chance to be her lover. If you ruin my sister's reputation by saying things like that, what if she won't marry me?"

The courtyard erupted in an uproar.

Wu Linyuan curled a finger and let the haughty look fall from his face. In full view of everyone, he leaned close to Lu Yun and brought a glazed golden cup to her lips, blowing gently on it. His thumb softly wiped away the moisture on its rim. "Sister, the pear water has cooled."

As domineering as he had been in his youth, he added, "Shall I feed you?"

A widow who remarries is always condemned by society.

Will Lu Yun marry again?

Wu Linyuan had returned, and the whole capital was abuzz. People said that Lu Yun of the Duke of Rui's household was going to defy the world and marry again, bringing shame upon herself and disgrace to her family.

I'll stand up for her. I don't care about the gossip. I only fear that she'll be hurt.

I have always hoped that, no matter the time or circumstances, she can do what she wants without being constrained.

★ The heroine is three years older than the hero. The heroine is not a virgin, while the hero is. Please don't read if that's not your thing.

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Theme: A cherished treasure held in the palm of one's hand, loved freely by the one who adores her