A Husband's Regret

Blurb: [One-on-one romance, both leads sexually inexperienced and devoted only to each other, regret and pursuit]

Everyone said Wen Li was lucky. She had married the man she wanted, and her husband held power and enjoyed the Emperor's favor.

But Wen Li knew very well that she and her husband had always treated each other with icy courtesy.

He was a cool, aloof scion of a noble family in the capital, the man of many a young woman's dreams. His handsome features were striking, and his smile was captivating.

She was an orphan from the outskirts of the capital, gentle and lovely, with medical skills. Though she often wished to heal the sick and save lives, she was only a commoner.

If she hadn't rescued this handsome, cold-hearted gentleman on the mountain all those years ago, she would never have met him, let alone married him.

In those days, snow and wind battered the little wooden cabin. The man's handsome face flickered in the candlelight as he silently kept watch beside her. Though he said little, whenever she looked back at him, she always felt a little more at ease.

She was no longer alone.

Then, half a year later, his gaze suddenly turned cold. The warm, silent tenderness in his phoenix eyes gave way to an eagle's sharp stare. His scrutinizing gaze followed her like a shadow, chilling her to the bone without a word.

Everything they had shared in the cracks between moments crumbled to dust.

Only then did she understand.

Later, when Wen Li accompanied Huan Heng to the capital, she learned that he had long had someone else in his heart.

He had secretly acquired a residence for that woman, and left his heart there.

When his legitimate wife remained childless, he fathered children with that woman.

And there were countless other instances of neglect, making it clear to everyone in the household that Huan Heng had never cared for her.

He had married her only to repay a debt of gratitude.

Four years after marrying Huan Heng, Wen Li finally came to her senses.

Some ice is destined never to melt, no matter how long you hold it.

Huan Heng had only accompanied Wen Li back to the outskirts of the capital to make amends.

Returning to the old place did little to stir his interest, until he discovered the hidden letters.

On the yellowed, thin paper, every graceful character was streaked with tears, filled with Wen Li's longing for someone else.

At last, Huan Heng understood why she had given him the name Liu when he lost his memory all those years ago.

All this time, his wife had seen him only as a shadow, a stand-in for another man.

Furious, Huan Heng forced Wen Li to burn the letters, never imagining that she would leave and never return.

She wore the same plain clothes he remembered. Gentle and graceful, she walked away with unwavering resolve and never once looked back.

Later, they parted for good, each finding their own happiness.

She established herself in the capital and became a renowned physician, known even to the Emperor.

He finally saw his new policies through, rose to power at court, and became the youngest chancellor in Great Zhao's history.

The two should have had nothing more to do with each other, yet somehow they kept crossing paths.

On the hazy day of the Flower Festival, the beautiful female physician stood with rain dampening her clothes, gentle and serene as she smiled and listened to the people around her.

At the banquet, the young chancellor played the qin, his wide sleeves stirring in the breeze. Sunlight fell across his fair, handsome face, making him seem so refined and aloof that he hardly looked real.

Everyone said he was a perfect gentleman, naturally elegant.

But no one knew how many times he had secretly stolen glances at her.

When he saw Wen Li's expression falter and the cup slip from her hand, he felt inexplicably uneasy and followed her gaze.

There stood the heir of the Prince of Runan, bearing the face of someone from her past. He chatted and laughed with easy charm, yet had a little more warmth and flamboyance than Huan Heng.

Huan Heng's heart tightened. His fingertips lost control, and the strings rang out sharply before snapping clean in two!

When he looked again, everyone saw the once lofty chancellor, his hands now stained with blood, eyes red as he chased after her with a look half-demonic, half-divine!

He did not even bother to maintain his usual dignified composure.

"I regret it."

He regretted being stubbornly blind all those years, and waking up too late, leaving you waiting alone.

Huan Heng's voice was hoarse. Gazing at her familiar face, he could not hold back the bitterness in his heart.

"What will it take for you to turn back?"

Reader's guide:

1. One-on-one romance, both leads sexually inexperienced and devoted only to each other. The white moonlight regret-and-pursuit trope, but at heart, a sweet story about winning back one's wife.

2. An angsty romance. The heroine has a white moonlight, but the hero doesn't: he has loved only her from beginning to end.

Theme: Cherish the person in front of you.