Red Lotus, Year After Year

Jiangnan is a land of beauty, and Jinling a city of emperors.

The old matron of the Yan household said that on the night she found Qin Huaiyue, a full moon hung high above the Qinhuai River, its waters shimmering as the moonlight danced across them. So the matron gave her that name.

Qin Huaiyue was as lovely as a flower beneath the moon, with a graceful figure as willowy as a spring willow. She grew up as childhood friends with Yan Chengzhou, the only son of the Yan family’s second branch, spoiled by him every step of the way.

Yan Chengzhou loved weapons and martial arts. From childhood, he refused to obey his parents, but he would listen to Qin Huaiyue and grit his teeth through the sages’ classics he despised most.

Yan Chengzhou hated women crying, yet he let her sob and make a fuss in front of him all she wanted.

When Qin Huaiyue turned fourteen, the mistress of the household sent her to Yan Chengzhou’s room to become his bedchamber maid.

Sadly, the good times did not last. She had been his bedchamber maid for only a year when Yan Chengzhou went to war with the Yan family’s eldest master. They were defeated and captured, and uncle and nephew both surrendered to Northern Yong.

When news reached the capital, the emperor of Southern Ye flew into a rage and ordered the extermination of the entire Yan clan. Caught up in the Yan family’s downfall, Qin Huaiyue was forced to enter the palace as a servant.

Five years later, a new emperor ascended the throne. An imperial decree ordered Qin Huaiyue to accompany a princess to Northern Yong for a marriage alliance.

Only after arriving in Northern Yong did Qin Huaiyue discover that her childhood sweetheart had already married there and become an official, a powerful minister who had the final say in everything. With a beloved wife at his side and all the power in his hands, he was living in splendor.

He seemed to have forgotten her, along with the enmity between their nations and their families.

The Male Lead’s Perspective

In his five years in Northern Yong, Yan Chengzhou never once forgot his desire for revenge.

He schemed and maneuvered at every turn, moving through the darkness.

Having already fallen into the deepest hell, he had nothing left to fear and would never turn back.

But his childhood sweetheart crossed mountains and rivers to find him. Stubborn and clumsy, she tried to build him a bridge back to the human world.

Later, as Yan Chengzhou lay dying, his childhood sweetheart held him and sobbed. “So what if it’s hell? I’ll go down there with you.”

A fictional Northern and Southern Dynasties setting.

Some aspects of political life are inspired by the Eastern Han, and some customs and objects by the Southern Song. Please don’t scrutinize the historical details.

Yan Jun (courtesy name Chengzhou) and Qin Huaiyue

The male lead is her first love in the early part of the story, then becomes a deranged, obsessive yandere later on.

The female lead’s name comes from Liu Yuxi’s line: “The moon of old, east of the Huai River, still crosses the city wall in the deep of night.”

The male lead’s name is Yan Jun, with Jun pronounced in the first tone, meaning “the fine quality of bamboo.”

Reading Guide:

This is a story about a dragon-slaying youth who eventually becomes a dragon...

They are four years apart. When they part, the male lead is 19 and the female lead is 15.

The male lead is not a virgin. After he and the female lead reunite, he remains devoted to her alone.

A tragic story. Both leads suffer. You can curse the author, but please don’t curse my male and female leads.

The male lead does many terrible things for revenge and refuses to turn back, making one mistake after another. In the end, he pays the price for what he has done. The ending is tragic.

The political scheming is very simplistic.

Read if you like it. If you don’t, there’s no need to force yourself. Jinjiang is full of wonderful stories, so let fate decide.

Blurb dated 2024.12.2

Coming Soon: The Son-in-Law Who Stormed Off in a Huff

[Next Book]

Xue Tao comes from a wealthy family in Jiangling. Since she is the Xue family’s only child, her parents cannot bear to send her far away through marriage, so they decide to find her a live-in son-in-law.

When Xue Tao is fifteen, Emperor Yuanchang listens to slander and has the crown prince killed with a cup of poisoned wine. The prince’s uncle, the Prince of Huainan, seizes the chance to take power, plunging Chang’an into chaos.

At the end of the month, Master Xue finds a half-dead young man by the Yangtze River. He is fair and refined, but he has hurt his head and forgotten everything that happened before he fell into the river.

Taking pity on the young man and seeing how honest and hardworking he is, Master Xue brings him home to be his daughter’s live-in son-in-law.

The young man is handsome and fair, and he does everything Xue Tao asks. His skills in bed, however, leave much to be desired. Xue Tao’s skin is delicate, and she can hardly stand his rough treatment. He leaves her crying in pain.

At last, one day, she can take no more. She kicks the son-in-law off the bed and points at his nose, berating him. “You crude lout, get out!”

The young man freezes. Two tears roll from his beautiful eyes. He dusts himself off and walks away without looking back.

After driving him away, Xue Tao feels a little guilty, but she still sticks to her guns and refuses to admit she was wrong. She did nothing wrong. If anyone was at fault, it was that son-in-law.

Three months later, the deposed crown prince miraculously comes back to life. He rallies his old followers, rises again, and topples the rebellious Prince of Huainan.

After the new emperor ascends the throne, an imperial decree arrives in Jiangling, announcing that he will take Xue Tao, the Xue family’s only daughter, as his empress. The people of Jiangling look at Xue Tao with envy, unable to understand why the new emperor would marry a woman who has already been married once.

Xue Tao is overjoyed. She cheerfully bids farewell to her parents, puts on her wedding dress, and sets off for Chang’an.

But once she arrives, the imperial physician diagnoses her as pregnant. The empress dowager is furious and orders the palace staff to drag Xue Tao into the Palace of the Rear Court to punish her for deceiving the emperor.

Just as Xue Tao is at a loss for words, a pair of black boots embroidered with dragon patterns stops in front of her.

Xue Tao swallows and looks up. She is so startled that her soul nearly leaves her body.

Well, would you look at that. It’s her son-in-law who stormed off in a huff.

The Male Lead’s Perspective

Suspected by his foolish father, Chu Yunqi has no choice but to drink poison and fake his death to escape. The poison is so potent that it wipes out all his memories.

Half a year later, he regains his memories. The first thing he does after ascending the throne is send someone to Jiangling to bring Xue Tao into the palace.

When Xue Tao arrives in Chang’an, he has not even had time to settle the score with her before the little coward drops to her knees with a thump, clings to his leg, and howls, “You can’t kill me, waah...”

Chu Yunqi’s thin lips curl slightly. “Oh? Why not?”

Xue Tao cries as she speaks. “Because I’m carrying your child!”

Chu Yunqi: “?!”

[Reading Guide]

Three-year age gap. Both leads are each other’s first and only. Happy ending. The male lead has no other women in his harem.

The male lead starts out as a soft, obedient puppy, then becomes a ruthless, scheming wolfhound. He takes her by force.

Blurb dated 2025.4.16

Theme: Love others and yourself, and stay devoted to one person for life