After Marrying My Archrival

[There's a bit of a problem, so I'm pausing for a moment. Please don't wander in! Thanks, everyone!]

[Check out my upcoming story in my author profile: The Princess Is My Ruin. Blurb at the bottom.]

Blurb:

A marriage contract bound Wen Xi and Yun Shu together.

Wen Xi was devastated. "Who wants to marry that libertine?!"

When Yun Shu heard this, she slammed her chopsticks down in front of the emperor. "Who wants to marry a brute?!"

On their wedding night, they glared at each other, wishing they could bite a chunk out of one another.

Wen Xi saw Yun Shu as her sworn enemy: she had ruined Wen Xi's career and couldn't even fight. Completely useless!

Yun Shu couldn't stand how Wen Xi had not a trace of gentleness in her, acting like a puffed-up cat every day.

They traded barbs every day, hurting themselves more than their enemies. At last, Wen Xi couldn't take it anymore and had a huge fight with Yun Shu. They agreed to divorce as soon as the time was right!

Once the agreement was signed, Wen Xi finally relaxed, completely unaware that Yun Shu had gradually begun keeping tabs on her and quietly solving a lot of her problems.

Wen Xi argued with the ministers in the morning, and Yun Shu secretly sent someone to deliver a gift and apologize at noon.

Wen Xi defied the emperor's orders and went to the battlefield in the middle of the night, and Yun Shu knelt at the palace gates for hours to beg forgiveness on her behalf.

At first, Yun Shu thought there had to be something wrong with her. They were sworn enemies, and they were going to divorce sooner or later, yet she had inexplicably done so much for Wen Xi. Only later did she realize that she might have truly fallen in love with her.

Wen Xi remained oblivious, spending all day focused on her own affairs. When the new emperor ascended the throne, she once again asked Yun Shu for a divorce, as they had agreed. She never expected Yun Shu to just chuckle.

"Our agreement? What agreement?"

"Oh, you mean the divorce? The Yun Shu who wanted to divorce you was the old me. Why are you asking the Yun Shu I am now?"

The Princess Is My Ruin: Blurb

The year Congyin came of age, Cen Ji, a princess from a neighboring country who had traveled a long way, personally proposed marriage. She offered a generous dowry and promised they would be the only two in each other's lives forever.

Congyin was a sucker for good looks and fell for Cen Ji at first sight. Ignoring all opposition, she brought her dowry and went with her.

But less than two months later, she regretted it.

Cen Ji already had someone she loved. She had sought Congyin's hand for three reasons: her wealth, her power, and to draw her enemies' hatred away from the woman she loved.

The affection she showed in public, her disguised confinement, her beloved's provocations, and the rumors everywhere nearly crushed Congyin.

Cen Ji was about to ascend the throne, but the position of empress remained unsettled. She pressured Congyin, overtly and covertly, to give it up. In the end, she went too far and personally plotted to kill Congyin with a poisoned arrow.

At the time, Congyin only felt her eyelids growing heavy. When she opened them again, she was back on her wedding night.

Facing the bustling bridal chamber, she sent all the servants away with a stern expression. As Cen Ji looked on in surprise, she pulled out an agreement she'd hastily drafted.

"Your Highness, before we marry, we need to agree on three rules!"

*

Cen Ji had someone she loved, but she was the legitimate daughter of the empress and the one everyone had their eye on. Her mother had died, and she was utterly alone, with no way to protect her beloved.

After thinking it over for a long time, she finally came up with a solution: marry a princess from a neighboring country!

The neighboring princess was innocent, adorable, and cherished by all. Marrying her would bring wealth and power, and she could also shield Cen Ji's beloved from harm.

Once Cen Ji ascended the throne, she could simply find an excuse to depose the princess and marry her beloved.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as beautifully as she'd imagined. On their wedding night, the innocent and kind princess demanded that they agree on three rules, or else separate immediately and go their own ways?

Cen Ji reluctantly agreed, gritting her teeth as she vowed not to let the little princess enjoy herself too much.

But the little princess spent every day carefree and happy, not caring about Cen Ji at all. She didn't mind whether Cen Ji had someone she loved, and on the night before Cen Ji's coronation, she even packed her bags and prepared to leave.

This time, Cen Ji finally couldn't sit still. She spent ages trying to persuade her at the palace gates, and at last the little princess reluctantly agreed to stay.

Cen Ji was overjoyed. That very night, she appointed the little princess as empress, holding the coronation ceremony even before her own enthronement.

Theme: Keep moving forward without fearing hardship, and welcome a beautiful future.