Your Majesty, Join Me in Stargazing Tonight

[Historical Romance] [Contract Marriage with a Proper Gentleman], pretending to be married before falling in love, marriage first and love later. Blurb at the bottom. Please add it to your collection.

[Blurb]

Jiang Wangyu despises the current emperor. Because of his urgent summons, she is forced to impersonate her twin brother, who has unexpectedly lost his sight, and take office at court. She trembles in fear at the Imperial Observatory, where each day feels like a year.

Fortunately, during those long nights, she unexpectedly meets a young man.

Bright as the moon, distant as the stars.

He is not only willing to watch the stars with her, but also to listen as she explains the tedious art of calendar making.

Before long, Jiang Wangyu finds herself growing fond of him. They talk by candlelight and travel together, until the day she sees with her own eyes the Grand Chancellor bow respectfully to him. And he calls himself...

I, the emperor.

*

He Shuf, who ascended the throne as a child, has the hopes of the entire court upon him. They want him to become a wise ruler, one who cares for the realm and puts personal feelings aside, a sage above reproach, who will leave behind a tale of a virtuous sovereign and worthy ministers for history to remember.

The only complication is the Imperial Observatory.

As he spends night after night with her, He Shuf falls deeper and deeper. For the first time in his life, he harbors a selfish desire:

To force a worthy minister to become his empress, and keep her hidden within the palace walls.

His alone.

*

That night.

After recording the night's celestial phenomena, Jiang Wangyu glances at the young man beside her. Remembering the recent rumors in the palace, she cannot help her curiosity and gives him a quiet poke in the back.

“I heard His Majesty nearly fell asleep at court today, and that no one could find him on several nights. You serve at his side, so do you know where he goes?”

He Shuf pauses, then smiles slowly. “I don't know.”

But later, he holds her tight and whispers into her ear, “I was with you.”

*

Note:

1. One-on-one romance, happy ending. Set in an invented world, with some historical inspiration but plenty of original details.

2. The heroine is consistently referred to with she/her pronouns in the story.

3. The urgent summons has another explanation and has nothing to do with the hero. No coercive romance.

4. “Bright as the moon, distant as the stars” is adapted from The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons: “Bright and shining like the light of the sun and moon, distant and orderly like the procession of the stars.”

5. The story has an anti-piracy lock, with a 60% preview. Updates at 9 p.m. Thank you for your support.

[Upcoming: Contract Marriage with a Proper Gentleman. Please add it to your collection.]

Both her parents died young. Ye Qingzhi brings her younger siblings to seek refuge with her maternal relatives, the Pingwei Marquis household in the distant capital. Knowing she has little power, all she wants is to raise her brother and sister in peace.

But her grandmother plans to marry her off as a concubine to one of her cousins. Looking at the cousins in the marquis's household, who spend their days drinking and carousing instead of striving to improve themselves, she turns her attention to Meng Zhiyuan, the household's tutor.

Though Meng Zhiyuan comes from a humble background, he is upright and proper, disciplined and courteous. Ye Qingzhi makes a gentleman's pact with him: they will marry in name only, each achieve their own goals, and then go their separate ways.

Two years later, Meng Zhiyuan passes the highest imperial examination and becomes a rising star at court. Ye Qingzhi has also secured her footing in the capital. With the date of their agreement drawing near, she sits in the study to write their divorce papers.

Suddenly, a man's strong body presses against her from behind. Meng Zhiyuan wraps his arms around her. The steady, composed top scholar, usually so dignified, now presses close to her neck, his breath burning against her skin, just as it did last night.

“Qingzhi, we're not getting divorced.”

*

To find peace and focus on the imperial examinations, Meng Zhiyuan enters into a contract marriage with the Pingwei Marquis household's beautiful, graceful young cousin.

After their wedding, Ye Qingzhi keeps her promise. In public, she is gentle and considerate, playing the part of a loving wife. In private, she keeps a clear distance between them and never crosses the line.

But as the end of their contract draws near, Meng Zhiyuan, a man who has always kept his word, finds himself thinking for the first time of breaking his promise.

Theme: Stay optimistic and strive forward.