Jiang Lang Gets No Satisfaction

Transmigrated into the body of a peasant girl at the end of a dynasty, Xia Li wanted nothing more than to scrape by and have enough to eat. But as a woman, she had no say in what became of her or where she went. Then fortune smiled on her. By chance, she rescued a young man from the river, and from then on she lived in comfort and luxury, leading the respectable life others envied. Only Xia Li knew what kind of obsessive madman hid beneath the handsome face of Jiang Li, a nobleman from a powerful family. The dynasty fell, warlords rose everywhere, and Xia Li had no choice but to keep living under Jiang Li's protection. On the eve of a military campaign, he pinned her before the mirror and clung to her in a desperate embrace. “Tomorrow, you're coming with me.” She understood what he meant: if he died, she could not fall into anyone else's hands. In a time of chaos, simply staying by each other's side was a rare blessing. She kissed him back and answered softly, “All right.” After their defeat, the fallen prodigy was captured and humiliated. Xia Li was the one who knelt before the enemy general and begged him to spare Jiang Li's life. At last, the heart born so cold found somewhere to belong. Just as he was happily preparing to flee the enemy camp with her, his subordinates arrived to rescue him and tossed a dagger at their feet. “Your men's loyalty, or your beloved concubine. Choose one, Jiang.” The blade slid from its sheath, its cold gleam reflected in his dark eyes. He said nothing, yet never had he made things clearer to her. The bloody stench of battle, the tenderness beneath the tent, everything they had shared was like a dream. She had once naively believed she was the last bit of warmth in his wretched life. The truth was, she had never been his first choice. With a smile of acceptance, she leapt from the cliff. “Whatever passed between us is settled. In this life or the next, may we never meet again.” * Five years passed in the blink of an eye, and peace finally returned. She had become a new Xia Li, and married a man with whom she could share her innermost thoughts. There was no using one another, and no deception. She had thought she could live out her life in such peace. But happiness did not last. Her new husband died unexpectedly. With thunder and lightning raging outside, Xia Li gazed at her late husband's memorial tablet and tightened her grip on the sharpened gold hairpin hidden in her sleeve. “My condolences, my lady.” Holding an umbrella, Jiang Li appeared at the door, just as she had expected. The man who had once shared the little details of everyday life with her had become an emperor adept at hiding his true nature. He held incense and bowed reverently before the memorial tablet. Xia Li suddenly threw herself at him like a madwoman, driving the hairpin into his chest. Rather than growing angry, Jiang Li laughed. He did not dodge. Instead, he seized her wrist and pushed her hand toward his heart. “One inch higher, and I'd be dead. Why didn't you stab me there?” Ignoring her slaps and struggles, he suddenly kissed her with bloodied lips. “He's dead. Doesn't that mean you can come back to me?” Strong-willed, resilient transmigrated woman x emotionally volatile male ghost. The male lead is sexually inexperienced. Theme: Live in the present.