Where Spring Flows

[Currently serializing Cowardly Before Him, please support it]

[Completed works: Cherish You, Exploring the Court, Off to the Eastern Palace Five Years Later, When the Peach Blossoms of Chang'an Have All Fallen]

Shen Zhiyan came from a distinguished family. Exceptionally talented and beautiful, she married Xue Zhaorong, the second son of the Prince's household, at the age of seventeen.

Xue Zhaorong was a noble young gentleman whose looks and talents were both among the best. Only after becoming engaged to Shen Zhiyan did he learn that she already had someone else she loved.

Their wedding was exceptionally grand, causing a sensation throughout the capital.

But the day after the wedding, Shen Zhiyan moved to another residence.

A year later, turmoil shook the court, and the entire Prince's household was executed.

·

That winter, the snow fell hard. On the freezing execution platform, Shen Zhiyan looked at Xue Zhaorong and saw guilt and reluctance in his eyes, along with a tenderness she couldn't quite make sense of.

He smiled bitterly and said to her, "Zhiyan, if there's another life, don't meet me again. I'm sorry. I dragged you into this."

That year, he was twenty-two, and she was eighteen.

·

Back to the twenty-sixth year of the Ling Kingdom.

It was raining that day. Xue Zhaorong followed his father to discuss the wedding date.

While the adults talked in the hall, Shen Zhiyan and Xue Zhaorong were sent to a guest room by her mother.

·

The rain outside was loud. In the dim light, Shen Zhiyan lifted her eyes to look at him.

He stood tall and graceful, with features like a painting, so dignified that it was hard to look away.

·

Just as in their previous life, his expression was always cold.

He looked down at her, his voice cool and clear. "Miss Shen, our marriage is arranged by our parents, and we cannot go against their wishes. After we marry, I'll live in a side room and won't disturb your peace."

The rain outside nearly drowned out his voice.

She turned to close the window and replied softly, "Young Master Xue, don't worry. I've already started discussing breaking off the engagement with my father. I'm sure we'll be free of this marriage soon."

The room fell silent. When she looked at him again, she saw a complicated expression in his eyes.

·

Not long afterward, they still married. She became his wife once more.

She thought they would live as they had in their previous life, sleeping in separate rooms and leaving each other alone.

But one day, he suddenly came to see her to discuss sharing a room.

·

She had just finished washing up and was drying her hair. She opened the door to let him in and asked, "Is something the matter, Young Master Xue? It's rather late."

She still called him "Young Master Xue."

His heart suddenly ached. He gazed at her fair skin and long, dark hair, then fell silent for a moment before replying, "A few of the servants have been gossiping behind our backs, saying we're at odds and planning to divorce. They also said... your cousin has been promoted, and his new residence is next door to ours. To put a stop to these malicious rumors, I think we should stop sleeping in separate rooms."

He paused, then lowered his voice. "Tonight... I'd like to sleep in your room."

As he spoke, he took out a box of rouge and set it on the table.

·

Reading guide:

1. Both leads are reborn, both are virgins.

2. They marry first and fall in love later. The aloof beauty goes all out to win his wife back!

3. Sweet romance.

Blurb for the currently serializing Off to the Eastern Palace Five Years Later:

When apricot blossoms in Jiangnan were blowing all over their hair, Shen Qingyin loved to climb over the mottled low wall next door and slip freshly steamed plum cakes into the herb-scented palm of a boy. "A-Yu, Father says he'll teach me to ride a pony after autumn."

The boy gazed at her amber eyes, filled with sunlight. The copper coin tied to her wrist with a red cord pressed painfully into his palm.

It was the charm the little girl had sincerely prayed for him to receive in the temple on the rainy night eight years ago, when the old physician had found him.

The winter of the seventeenth year of the Ling Kingdom was bitterly cold.

The Black Armor Guards trampled through the snow at the gate and escorted the prince, who had been living among commoners, back to the palace.

Shen Qingyin chased the procession down three long streets, but in the end, she couldn't call back the boy who had promised to pick every last peach blossom for her.

The orphan the old physician had found was actually of the imperial bloodline.

Five years after they parted, Shen Qingyin looked at the faded charm at the Crown Prince's waist, her heart a tangle of emotions.

The shy boy who once blushed at the sight of anyone had become a dignified and noble heir to the throne, living in the Eastern Palace.

He stood there, watching her avoid his gaze, and spoke in a low, clear voice. "Qingyin, don't you recognize me?"

She lowered her eyes and bowed deeply. After a long while, she finally replied, "Your Highness, I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else."

Mistaken her for someone else?

How could that be?

Not long afterward, she became engaged to the top scholar of the palace examinations.

On a snowy night, the Eastern Palace's hidden guards surrounded the top scholar's residence. Xiao Chengyu dipped his brush in ink and made his vow on the marriage contract: Shen Qingyin, since you've forgotten our childhood promise, I'll make you remember what it means to yearn for someone with all your heart.

A month into their marriage, living apart had become unbearable. Gazing at her lovely face, he moved his lips and said, "Um... could you let me sleep here tonight?"

[Reading guide]

1. An obsessive crown prince pursues his beloved wife

2. Both leads are virgins, sweet romance

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Theme: Weather the storms together