[Enchanting, alluring princess × aloof Daoist priest who says one thing but means another]
Princess Chai Meishu of the Li Dynasty and her consort had been married for six years, but their relationship was only a facade, and they lived apart.
One day, her consort returned to the princess's residence and happened to catch Meishu laughing flirtatiously with a new man from the villa. Meishu even invited her consort to join in.
Overcome with grief and anger, her consort quarreled with Meishu.
Meishu didn't understand. “If you couldn't stomach it, why did you become my consort in the first place?”
Her consort's eyes reddened, brimming with bitterness and resentment. She stormed out. The next day, Meishu received news of her consort's death, and she remained a widow for three years.
To appease her consort's family, the Emperor of the Li Dynasty punished Meishu by sending her to cultivate in seclusion at a Daoist temple on Purple Bamboo Mountain.
By chance, the temple's abbot had just returned to the capital from a journey.
The abbot, Linyu, was a handsome, ethereal man, and his features bore more than a passing resemblance to Meishu's consort.
Meishu tried every trick in the book to seduce him, but Linyu remained devoted to a life of purity.
During morning prayers at the temple, Meishu draped a hand over his shoulder and neck, then leaned in to whisper and laugh by his ear, displaying all her charms.
But the Daoist priest only said that if she was cold, she should put on more clothes.
Meishu wouldn't take no for an answer. She twined her fingers in the sash of his robe and tried to rest her head on his lap.
But she missed, and instead of getting angry, Meishu was delighted.
The more unmoved Linyu seemed, the more determined she was to win him over.
In the end, Linyu was only human, and even he couldn't resist such irresistible charms.
On a moonlit night during the Dragon Boat Festival, Meishu reclined on a chaise lounge, half wrapped in a sheer robe, and invited him to drink realgar wine, her eyes hazy with desire.
Linyu's brows darkened, his eyes brimming with tangled emotions.
After several struggles, the abbot, who in the eyes of the world was utterly unstained by the mundane, bowed low and slowly knelt before her. Almost reverently, he kissed her fingertips and drank in the wine of passion.
Everyone said that he, Shi Heng, was the greatest fool of all time.
He had a prestigious family background and had passed the palace examinations as the top scholar, with a brilliant future ahead of him, yet he had fallen for that free-spirited princess.
He knew the princess had countless lovers and that he was merely a fleeting affair, yet he remained lost in her, foolishly hoping to change her nature.
Then he witnessed that outrageous scene. He left her with a hardened heart, met with an accident, and was saved by a Daoist priest. Having accepted the indifference of life and death, he saw through the mortal world, became a Daoist, and withdrew from society.
Three years later, he returned to the capital and reunited with her at Purple Bamboo Temple.
She seduced and pursued him again, leaving him no escape. In the end, he fell into temptation with his eyes wide open.
He asked her: if there were only one person in her heart, who would it be?
She replied: him.
Shi Heng was jealous, jealous that the “abbot” could win her love, even though they were the same person.
[Reading Guide]
1. One-on-one ending. The female lead has no other romantic or sexual partners, and the male lead is pure in both body and heart. The male lead is her consort. Her being a widow was an excuse for not wanting to marry again, not an obligation to remain a widow.
2. The story starts at a fast pace and uses flashbacks. How they ended up in a marriage that was all appearance and no substance will be explained.
3. A wicked woman returns to her devoted lover, and the male lead is an utterly devoted simp. The female lead is flawed, doesn't know what love is, and does whatever she wants.
4. The female lead has a troubled heart and refuses to admit it, so she doesn't recognize him.
5. Not a strong female lead, nor a female-centric power fantasy. (Saved 2025.9.13)
Theme: Life is short, so enjoy it while you can
