Paying Respects to the Well-Dressed

[Alternate History] [Wuxia and Court Intrigue] [Xianxia and Demons] [Past Lives and Present] A gentle, chivalrous gong and a proud, powerful shou; bickering lovers; married first, in love later. Please add this to your collection! Sending you love!

I served in the Heavenly Court for several hundred years. After the Demon Lord wrecked it, the Emperor took pity on me and sent me down to the mortal world, even arranging an entire marriage for me.

Honestly, I'm not the kind of man to marry just anyone, but my intended was incredibly handsome.

So handsome that his beauty and bad reputation were equally renowned throughout the imperial capital. His name was Chang Yongchen.

He was the young marquis of the Great Jing dynasty.

So I married him.

On our wedding night, as a celestial immortal, I was so nervous that I spent ages dawdling before lifting the bridal veil.

But the moment the young marquis saw me, his eyes suddenly widened. Trembling, he said:

"Shen Xiaokong... It's been four years since you died."

I had no idea what was going on.

I didn't know him, either.

But he seemed to like me.

So I married him anyway.

The thing was, I had come down from the heavens on a mission from the Heavenly Court. I needed to investigate cases in the mortal world, and having him along was always inconvenient.

Later, before I could finish investigating the cases in the Great Jing dynasty, the barrier between us was broken first.

Oh.

So he was the Demon Lord who had wrecked the Heavenly Court.

So I started a romance between an immortal and a demon with him.

We loved each other until heaven and earth were destroyed.

We loved each other until our souls were scattered.

By the end, that arranged marriage had become entirely voluntary.

[Setting and Worldbuilding Warning, Feel Free to Skip]

The demon clan is in decline, the ghost realm lies low, and the mortal world has long been controlled by the Eight Divine Sects. The Heavenly Court is the ruler of the Three Realms.

1. The Marriage Fate Sect: Governs the marriages of mortals. The Immortal Lord of Reincarnation is its leader.

2. The Eight Directions Wealth Sect: Governs wealth. Led by the Immortal Lord of Wealth.

3. The Plague and Fire Immortal Sect: Governs medicine and illness. Led by the Immortal Lord of Plague and Fire, who has served for a long time.

4. The Spirit-Medium Dao Sect: "Fu" means to summon and guide, while "ji" refers to a spirit medium. Spirit writing is a way of communicating with deities through the human body. Through special rituals and states, a medium enters a supernatural state and conveys messages from the deities as their intermediary. The above is adapted from Baidu Baike! In this story, the concept is simplified: this sect serves as the Heavenly Court's means of communication with the mortal world. Its leader is the Immortal Lord of Inquiry, the least senior of them all.

5. The Celestial Time Sect: Governs time. Led by the Immortal Lord of Time, who has served for a long time.

6. The Fengshui Origin Sect: Controls the course of mortals' fates and performs fengshui divination. Led by the Lord of Fengshui.

7. The Thunder and Rain Heavenly Sect: Governs the weather. Led by the Immortal Lord in Purple.

8. The Twin Sects of Sorrow and Joy: Govern the joys and sorrows, partings and reunions of mortal life. Led by the Fairy Qinghuan.

9. The Supreme Void Realm: Where the Emperor appears.

Main timeline in the mortal world:

Ning dynasty (nine hundred years ago) - Jing dynasty (three hundred years ago, when most of the story takes place) - the actual present

Theme: Once we bow three times before the wedding robes, there's no turning back. In life or death, my lord, I'll face it all with you.