Blessings Upon You, Sister-in-Law

My neighboring novel, Winning the Prince's Wife, is now underway. It's another story about a man and his brother's wife. Would you lovely ladies please add it to your collection? The blurb is below~

Blurb: [Clever yet magnanimous noblewoman VS petty but fiercely protective rough-and-ready general]

Wang Zhaoyun, the foremost noblewoman of her generation, had a compassionate, beautiful face and extraordinary talent. Countless men pursued her, and matchmakers had worn a path to her door while she was still a young girl.

Yet she chose neither the imperial family nor another noble house. She insisted on marrying into the humble Pei family.

The Peis were country folk. Neither they nor their ancestors had ever made a name for themselves, and they were worlds apart from the Wang family.

No one could understand why, after marrying the short-lived eldest son of the Pei family, Wang Zhaoyun would seek an imperial decree allowing her to marry his younger brother, too. It was as if she had decided to cling to the Pei family no matter what.

Pei Yuanshan, the supposed victim, was just as baffled by what Wang Zhaoyun wanted.

His older brother had been under her spell, manipulated and used by her, and had worked himself to death helping her in disaster-stricken regions, building her reputation among the nobility until his dying day.

Did she think he was as foolish as his brother, and that she could make him do her bidding, leading an army of thousands to fight and die for her?

Pei Yuanshan laughed at his brother's foolishness. He also laughed at his widowed sister-in-law, whom he had never met, for imagining that an imperial decree would be enough to bind him to her.

He had already told his subordinates that when that woman forced him into marriage, they were to put her in her place, preferably making her so angry that she would go back to the capital.

But a single glimpse of a beauty can ruin a man's life.

No one had told him that his sister-in-law really did have a face as rare as a bodhisattva's. She was as beautiful as a goddess, graceful as a startled swan, and impossible to forget.

Later, Pei Yuanshan kept reminding himself not to be seduced by beauty and to hold fast to his principles. He and she were nothing more than allies.

Later still, watching Wang Zhaoyun tirelessly work for the army and the people, Pei Yuanshan thought that perhaps he could build a good life with her after all.

But when her childhood friend and cousin, the Crown Prince, arrived, she brought up returning to the capital.

So she had finally remembered that their marriage was not an equal match after all?

- A little political intrigue, but the romance is the main focus. She isn't an all-powerful heroine; the leads are evenly matched, and they flirt whenever the mood strikes.

- Both leads are virgins. There's a difference in height and social class, but both become the perfect fuel for their push-and-pull tension. Hehe~

----- Introduction to Winning the Prince's Wife, also known as The Graceful Wine Seller of Hexi -----

Dai Zhi was born in Hexi, into a family of merchants and wine sellers. She was an entirely ordinary young woman.

But she was lucky enough to meet Rong Chen and become his princess consort.

From then on, the couple loved and trusted each other, and lived in endless wealth and splendor.

But Dai Zhi never imagined that Rong Chen would deceive her.

For example, the nourishing sweet soup she drank every day was meant to raise a Gu worm.

For example, the supposedly peaceful five years she had forgotten were actually the years she had spent imprisoned in the palace.

And she had another identity: the late Emperor's benevolent empress.

*

The thing Rong Chen regretted most in his life was bringing Dai Zhi back to the capital to ask his imperial elder brother to grant them permission to marry.

That day, the sun was warm, the spring breeze gentle, and everything was just right.

He tucked his newly issued imperial decree away and headed east along Jade Lake to find Dai Zhi, who was out enjoying herself with the palace consorts.

"Once today is over, they would set out to return to Hexi.

He would follow Hexi customs and hold a grand wedding to welcome her into his home."

But who could have guessed? The palace consort was nowhere to be seen. Only a scattered imperial robe lay on the ground, its silken sash tangled with wisps of red thread.

Rong Chen recognized them. They were the hair ornaments he had personally tied into Dai Zhi's hair before she left that morning.

Yes, they were Dai Zhi's hair ornaments...

Theme: Everyone needs a goal to strive for in life.