Imprisoned in This Fleeting Joy

Everyone says that the current Grand Secretary, Lian Huaixu, is deeply devoted to his wife. They have been married for years, and he has never taken a concubine.

Only Lou Zhiyue knows what these sixteen years of mutual respect as cold as ice have been like.

Once, when Lian Huaixu was drunk and wanted her, he called out another woman's name.

Her heart turned cold, but she pretended not to hear.

After that night, Lian Huaixu came home later and later, and his manner toward her grew increasingly cold.

Lou Zhiyue did not pry. They had been married for so many years; life had to go on somehow.

Two months later, she became pregnant and was preparing to tell Lian Huaixu when she learned from someone else that he was keeping a mistress.

At first she refused to believe it, until she saw her own husband carefully helping a frail young woman into a carriage. He had never looked at her with such tenderness.

Lou Zhiyue turned and walked away.

She had given him a chance. If he had confessed of his own accord, she could have let the past go.

But that day, he still came home very late, without offering a single explanation.

Later, she miscarried, and Lian Huaixu never showed up at all.

Lou Zhiyue's heart finally went cold. She threw a divorce agreement in front of him.

He tore it to pieces. "Lou Zhiyue, you can't leave me."

When they had first married, Lian Huaixu had felt no affection for his wife. But she was obedient and considerate, clever and sensible. In their sixteen years of marriage, she had borne him a son.

As long as she continued to behave herself and keep to her place, he could go on being her husband, protecting her and raising their son to succeed.

But the one thing she should never have done was try to control him.

When he refused to grant her a divorce, she slept in a separate room and met his gaze with cold eyes. One night, he awoke and instinctively reached to his side, only to find it cold and empty.

Lian Huaixu changed his mind. She was only someone who shared his bed, after all. Why not replace her with someone else?

He agreed to the divorce and coldly watched her move out.

But when he saw the room without a trace of her left in it, he inexplicably felt an emptiness in his chest.

As if possessed, he followed her out. He was about to ask her to stay when he saw an elegant man walking beside her, and Lou Zhiyue laughing and chatting with him.

He had never seen her smile so brightly.

Lian Huaixu suddenly remembered that before Lou Zhiyue married him, she had a childhood sweetheart. If he had not married her to gain influence through the Lou family, she would have married that childhood friend.

The sight of them together was unbearable.

Lian Huaixu regretted it. He should never have agreed to the divorce.

[The man surnamed Lian never touched another woman. Lots of everyday domestic drama; the leads don't talk things out.]

[They do not get back together. Not a feel-good power fantasy.]

[If it's not your thing, just click the X. That way we're both happy.]

A preview of my upcoming novel, My Dead Husband Has Come Back from the Dead

Blurb:

Luwu knows she's beautiful. She used her looks to marry a county magistrate, hoping he'd get promoted and make a fortune so she could rise in the world and never have to put up with anyone's scorn again.

After they married, all he did was dote on her. He had no ambition whatsoever.

"If you spend all your time like this, how are you going to support me in the future?"

The man's rough hand gripped her waist. He kept moving and didn't answer.

Luwu urged him to strive for success every day, waiting for him to get his act together. Then he suddenly died, leaving her a young widow.

She had no intention of remaining a widow for the rest of her life. As she packed her belongings and looked for a way out, people mistook her for a princess.

The general in charge pointed to the jade pendant she had stolen from her dead husband and said it was the one the emperor had bestowed upon the princess at birth.

Just like that, Luwu became Princess Ji Wu. She enjoyed wealth and splendor, and had an even better life than she had as the magistrate's wife.

Later, the emperor wanted to arrange a marriage for her. The capital was full of talented young nobles, and Luwu was dazzled by the choices. In the end, she chose the dashing and talented heir to the Marquis of Pingnan.

Just after the engagement was finalized, the emperor found his crown prince, who had been lost among the common people.

When Luwu saw that familiar face, she turned deathly pale.

"A Wu, this is your brother."

The man fixed his brazen, inscrutable gaze on her and called her his little sister, A Wu.

But Luwu did not dare call him Big Brother Crown Prince.

When he woke her in the middle of the night, she panicked and tried to call for help. He threatened her:

"Go ahead and shout. Let everyone find out that Princess Ji Wu is having an affair with the crown prince, and that she's a fake, too."

Luwu was so frightened that she burst into tears.

After days of fear and worry, her wedding day finally arrived.

The door creaked open, and someone entered to lift her veil.

Luwu raised her face with a smile, only for it to turn to terror in an instant.

From then on, Princess Ji Wu disappeared from the palace, and the Eastern Palace gained a crown princess.

A maid once caught sight of the crown princess lying in the crown prince's arms, her lips parted and cheeks flushed, looking utterly enchanting.

Everyone who served her knew that the crown princess cried during the day and cried at night, too.

Luwu cried because his insatiable demands wore her out.

"Are you satisfied with your position as crown princess, A Wu?" He pinned down the foot she had kicked toward him. His calloused hand clasped her pale ankle, rubbing it until it reddened.

"Or is there something else you want, A Wu? I'll find it for you."

Luwu bit her lip, angry and exasperated. "I want you to stay away from me!"

#MyDeadHusbandCameBackFromTheDead

#HeDidn'tJustComeBackFromTheDead,HeBecameTheCrownPrince

#EvenAsTheCrownPrince,AllHeDoesIsDoteOnHer

1. One-on-one romance, both leads are sexually inexperienced, happy ending. The leads are not blood-related.

2. The heroine is a pretty but useless flower vase who only wants wealth and status. The hero is attracted to her looks at first sight. If that's not your thing, run.

3. The hero is extremely obsessed with the heroine, ridiculously so. He's a rough, rugged sort, but he'll learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting to make her happy.

4. The hero conceals his true identity at first, and the heroine has another identity of her own.

Completed historical romance: Marrying Today

Theme: Passionately pursue light and warmth.