The two long novels next door are the ones I actually wrote seriously.
"The Lost Pearl's Return"
Lin Yan grew up by Chu Yi's side. For three years, she ran his network of spies in a brothel and learned a great deal. The princess's search for a husband came to an end, along with the drama of favored lovers and confidantes. Lin Yan jumped from a high tower, severing their ties.
Years later, they meet again in Binhe Prefecture. Chu Yi is an honored guest of the prefect, while Lin Yan is a Yanquan dancer.
The ever-composed Fourth Young Master Chu casually wipes a drop of water from the back of his hand and asks the prefect of Binhe, "My lord, might you be willing to part with this dancer?"
In the guest room, Lin Yan can't escape him. She cries her eyes out and throws a tantrum. "That's right! I haven't been doing well without you. Not at all! I pretended to be a Yanquan and acted deaf and mute just so I could fetch a better price. Happy now?"
Chu Yi is at a loss as she cries, and tries to comfort her. "I'm happy that you're alive, Yan'er. You have no idea how much I've regretted everything and missed you this past year. Let's get married. Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you. Don't be afraid."
Lin Yan asks timidly, "Young Master, I heard that the bandit chief Lin Qiong gathered three hundred thousand rebels and ruined your plans. What would you do if she fell into your hands?"
Chu Yi answers without hesitation, "Use her as a sacrificial offering before the troops."
That night, Lin Yan disappears. Chu Yi immediately leads his troops to attack the city, only to see forty banners bearing the name Lin rise above the walls of Binhe Prefecture. A woman in armor, a saber at her side, strides up to the battlements.
Lin Yan is Lin Qiong.
A courtesan queen who controls a spy network, with alluring eyes and thunderous methods;
A treacherous minister's descendant who turns infamy into armor, a gentle yet sharp blade who can break the deadlock.
Yan illuminated Chu Yi's difficult and lonely path through life, while Chu Yi led Lin Yan as she restored the realm.
A related grandparent-grandchild story next door, "A Three-Part Contest of Shadows":
A scheming little princess with a pile of secret identities X a loyal little emperor of great talent
One-line summary: The more secret identities you have, the more you can profit as a middleman.
Yun Fei, heir to the Songyuan Yun clan, is sickly.
Yan Fei, a princess sent to the capital as a hostage, is sweet on the outside and dark within.
At a New Year's Eve palace banquet, a spoiled young nobleman mocks her: "That sickly young master of the Yun clan looks like a breeze could knock him over. I doubt he'd last a minute in bed. A princess would be much more fun."
A cup of wine splashes into his face. Yan Fei tells the emperor, the empress dowager, and the assembled officials, "Young Master Liang said that the Yun heir wouldn't last a minute in bed with him!"
Yun Fei is the little emperor's darling, and the emperor flies into a rage.
The culprit must naturally be punished. But the little emperor won't let this Yan princess off for using his precious Yun sister as a pawn, either.
That New Year's Eve, Yan Fei is sentenced to kneel for a long time in Weiyang Hall.
The little emperor, with thoughts only for his Yun sister, gallops to the Duke's residence. But there's no way he'll find her there. That sickly young master of the Yun clan is on his imperial command, kneeling in Weiyang Hall.
P.S. Yan Fei = Yun Fei = Shen Fei = Shen Fei
Theme: Your fate is in your own hands
