The two long stories next door are the ones I actually wrote seriously.
Pearl Lost, Crossing Back
Lin Yan grew up by Chu Yi's side and ran his underworld network in a brothel for three years, learning all kinds of skills. The princess chose her husband, and the story of the favored guest and the confidante came to an end. Lin Yan leapt from a high pavilion, severing their bond. Years later, they met again in Binhe Prefecture. Chu Yi was an honored guest of the prefect, while Lin Yan was a Dogdi dancer.
Young Master Chu, Fourth of his name, had always remained calm even when Mount Tai collapsed before him. Without changing expression, he wiped a drop of water from the back of his hand and asked the prefect of Binhe, "My lord, might you be willing to give this dancer to me?"
In the guest room, Lin Yan couldn't avoid Chu Yi. She cried her eyes out and flew into a rage. "That's right! I haven't been doing well without you. Not at all! I pretended to be Dogdi and pretended to be deaf and mute just to fetch a better price. Are you happy now?"
Chu Yi was so flustered by her tears that he didn't know what to do. He tried to comfort her. "I'm happy you're alive, Yan'er. You have no idea how much I've regretted it and missed you this past year. Let's get married. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you. Don't be afraid."
Lin Yan asked timidly, "Young Master, I heard that the bandit leader Lin Qiong gathered three hundred thousand rebels and ruined your plans. What would you do if she fell into your hands?"
Chu Yi answered without hesitation: "Use her as an offering to the battle flag."
That night, Lin Yan disappeared. Chu Yi immediately led his troops to attack the city, only to see forty flags bearing the character Lin fluttering above the city gate of Binhe Prefecture. A woman in armor, a saber at her side, climbed up onto the tower
Lin Yan was Lin Qiong.
The brothel's top courtesan commands an underworld network, with alluring eyes and ruthless methods;
The disgraced daughter of a treacherous official turns infamy into armor, a gentle edge in her words as she breaks the deadlock.
Yan lights the lonely, difficult road of Chu Yi's life, while Chu Yi guides Lin Yan as she restores the land from one end to the other.
The grandparent-and-grandchild story in the same series next door, Three Shadows at the Board:
A scheming little princess with secret identities stacked high x a loyal little emperor of great ambition
One-line summary: With enough secret identities, you can make a profit as the middleman.
Yun Fei, young lord of the Songyuan Yun clan, is a sickly girl.
Yan Fei, the princess sent to the capital as a hostage, is a sweet-looking girl with a dark heart.
At the New Year's Eve palace banquet, a wastrel made a lewd joke: "That sickly young lord of the Yun clan would fall over if the wind blew. I doubt she'd last a quarter of an hour in bed. How could she compare to a princess?"
A cup of wine splashed into his face. Yan Fei told the emperor, the empress dowager, and all the officials, "Young Master Liang says that if Young Lord Yun gets into his bed, she won't last a quarter of an hour!"
Yun Fei was the little emperor's darling, and he flew into a rage.
The culprit naturally had to be dealt with, but the little emperor wouldn't let the princess of Yan off either for using his dear Yun Fei as a pawn.
That New Year's Eve, Yan Fei was punished with a long kneel in Weiyang Hall.
The little emperor was thinking only of his dear Yun Fei. He galloped to the Duke's residence, but he was bound to find no one there. That sickly young lord of the Yun clan had been ordered by imperial decree to kneel in Weiyang Hall.
PS: Yan Fei = Yun Fei = Shen Fei = Shen Fei
Theme: A short practice piece
