A Century of Illness

Preorder: the campus novel "The Years I Give Her." Blurb at the end.

[Cool, frail bottom + innocent, lovesick top]

[An unconventional substitute story]

In this setting, both men and women can hold office, but the empress must be the same sex as the emperor.

All the worldbuilding serves the plot, so please be understanding if the plot isn't perfect.

Seven-year age gap.

The main couple is endgame and cannot be broken up. Feel free to interpret the other characters' relationships as you like; there are no restrictions.

Jiang Louyue was a general: a genius, blindly loyal, and stubborn to a fault.

After she was poisoned with a freezing toxin, the new emperor sent her to the northern frontier. As long as she kept her head down, the remaining years of her life wouldn't be too hard.

She could have gone on living that way, until someone told her that her master had left a child behind.

Xie Nian, daughter of the former Beiw Wu priestess and General Xie of Jianglin, was now a little palace maid imprisoned deep in the imperial palace.

She had no name and no past, and had been confined to a single palace for as long as she could remember. Xie Nian thought she'd end up like the other palace maids, growing old and dying there one day before being carried out, until someone flung open the door.

Xie Nian saw the light.

Jiang Louyue took her in as a disciple, and she was made a commandery princess. Everything was so wonderful, until she realized she was a substitute for her mother.

Her master had never spoken aloud of her feelings for Xie Nian's mother. Xie Nian comforted herself, confident that with a face so like her mother's, she could make her master fall for her.

She was wrong.

Jiang Louyue was too clearheaded. She planned Xie Nian's life for her: adulthood, work, marriage, children. The one thing she left out was herself.

Xie Nian thought it unfair. Whatever her mother had, she wanted too. Before she could even begin to pursue her, Jiang Louyue passed away.

Heaven had already been kind to her by letting her cling to life. How could she dare to covet that place as well?

Jiang Louyue put on a disguise and left her past behind. From then on, Jiang Louyue was no more, and only Jiang Bainian remained. She fooled everyone, except one person.

"Master."

Jiang Louyue turned around. Xie Nian was half a step behind her, walking close at her side.

"It's been a long time."

Also adding the preorder novel "The Years I Give Her"

Preorder blurb:

[Frank, conceited genius bottom + insecure, scheming top student top]

A quiet, awkward campus romance.

Content warning: Neither lead is perfect, and both have flaws. If anything makes you uncomfortable along the way, please stop reading rather than force yourself to continue.

Some of the knowledge mentioned in the novel may be inaccurate.

The story:

Zhao Shu was a genius, especially in physics, with a brilliant future ahead of her. Unfortunately, she liked girls.

When her previous relationship was discovered, Zhao Shu was dumped at once and made to transfer schools.

Maybe that was for the best. In this unfamiliar city, no one knew her past.

Shen Sinian was an illegitimate daughter who was never valued. She had once sworn to leave this awful place as soon as she came of age and never return, until she met Zhao Shu.

When she was bullied, Zhao Shu stood up for her.

When she was in trouble, Zhao Shu helped her out.

Even after she was kicked out of her home, Zhao Shu took her in.

Zhao Shu had it all planned out: as soon as she graduated, she'd bury herself in academic research and pay no more attention to the world. But before then, Shen Sinian had come to occupy too much of her life. She sensed something was wrong, but it was already too late.

"A Shu, have pity on me."

Oh well. She'd only fallen for another girl.

If it was Shen Sinian, that wasn't so bad.

Theme: Let yesterday die; be reborn today