After the Coolheaded Top Scholar Was Taken by Force

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Blurb:

Everyone in the Great Yong court knows that Wen Yuxun, the Marquis of Huaiyu and the illustrious General Who Pacifies the Far Reaches, has done two earth-shaking things:

First, he swept across the northern frontier, expanded the realm by a thousand li, and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Huaiyu.

Second, he used his immense military merits to force the newly crowned third-place scholar, Xie Lin, into marriage.

Everyone sighs: What a pity for that peerlessly elegant young scholar. Born to a poor family, he passed the imperial examinations in a single stroke, only to become the “spoils of war” of a baleful general.

Little do they know that this seemingly aloof and proud scholar is actually a discreet strategist serving the Third Prince. For Xie Lin, this is a contest called forced marriage. For Wen Yuxun, it is a marriage he has spent years longing for and finally forced into being.

After they marry, Wen Yuxun is perfectly content with Xie Lin's indifferent treatment. He guards this hard-won marriage, from court to home, from trading barbs to planning side by side. He offers up all the sincerity in his heart and patiently waits for the ice to melt.

But Xie Lin's response is always the same: calm, distant political “cooperation.”

Watching Xie Lin's back as he seemed destined never to pause for him, Wen Yuxun felt tired for the first time.

One day, smoke rose once more along the border. Wen Yuxun calmly requested an imperial decree: “Your Majesty, the Northern Di are making trouble. I request permission to guard the frontier.”

Looking at the half-empty Marquis's residence, Xie Lin felt his fingertips turn cold for the first time in his life.

Wait! That brute... He's going to war?! The plate of cloyingly sweet candied fruit he brought over yesterday is still... I haven't thrown it away yet!

The next day, the court was in an uproar.

That Lord Xie, usually as unshakable as a mountain and as detached as an immortal, had actually taken leave for the first time!

According to a certain city gate captain who wished to remain anonymous:

At a quarter past midnight, a young man in blue robes shattered the moonlight. His sleeves billowing, he galloped out of the city without even removing the fish-shaped insignia pouch at his waist.

On the sand-swept road, when Xie Lin caught up with him, his hair crown had come askew, and a few strands of hair clung to his sweat-damp neck.

Panting, he looked up and grabbed Wen Yuxun's reins. “Wen Yuxun.”

“I let you force me into marriage. I allowed you to press me step by step, and even...”

The tips of his ears reddened, and his words abruptly stopped. He suddenly flicked his sleeve, and three memorials flew straight into Wen Yuxun's arms.

The ink on the top one was still wet. It was unmistakably a memorial volunteering to serve as military supervisor, with the name “Xie Lin” written in bold strokes at the end.

“You won't get rid of me.”

#Marquis Huaiyu: My wife's hand is shaking as he submits the memorial, haha

#Wasn't this supposed to be a political marriage? Why is the scholar the one panicking first!

#The coy scholar's husband-chasing story: Cool and indifferent on the outside.jpg, freaking out on the inside

#How to get a stubborn strategist to admit it first: I'm the one who fell for him.

A seemingly roguish, gentlemanly, deep and devoted gong x a peerlessly beautiful, ice-melting strategist shou

Here's another ancient-style danmei novel from my column, The Merciless Dao Beauty Immortal Venerable Regrets Killing His Husband

Please add it to your collection!

No one in the cultivation world has failed to hear the name “Yu Qingyan,” for two reasons.

First, he has cultivated the Merciless Dao for a hundred years. He is the foremost immortal cultivator of the present age, and also the most beautiful person alive. His white robes flutter in the wind, his bones are like frost and snow, and his face is enough to make even the immortals of the Nine Heavens feel ashamed.

Second... No one in the cultivation world dares to speak of it, but everyone knows it in their hearts: he once had a cultivation partner, and that partner was a man.

Everyone knows that Immortal Venerable Yu Qingyan comprehended the Great Vehicle, entered the Tribulation Transcendence stage, and became the greatest cultivator under heaven by proving his Dao through killing his husband.

After a hundred years of solitude, he ascended to the pinnacle. Every cultivator under heaven bows their head and respectfully addresses him as “Venerable One.”

No one knows that each night, as the Venerable One meditates, an old wound in his heart aches faintly. The Merciless Dao, when cultivated to its end, should leave one without sorrow or joy, anger or resentment.

And yet, on snowy nights, Yu Qingyan would sometimes think of someone.

He refused to admit that it was regret.

He cultivated the Merciless Dao. Without affection or desire, how could his heart ever stir?

That person was merely a skeleton on the path to proving his Dao... Just a skeleton.

When Yu Qingyan opened his eyes again, he found himself standing before the Heart-Cleansing Pool, where disciples of the sect chose their cultivation paths.

The water was crystal clear, reflecting his youthful face. Beside him, junior brothers and sisters chattered as they discussed whether to choose the Sword Dao or the Alchemy Dao.

Yu Qingyan stared blankly at the water, and, as if possessed, walked around the stone stele of the Merciless Dao.

His master was startled. “Yan'er, you've cultivated the Merciless Dao for a hundred years. Your foundation has long since...”

“I won't cultivate it anymore,” Yu Qingyan said.

He couldn't explain why. Maybe those hundred years had been too long, long enough that he was tired even of lying to himself.

In any case, he wouldn't cultivate it in this life.

Shen Zhaodu died very quietly.

He had once been nothing more than an independent cultivator, accustomed to shutting himself away deep in the mountains and forests. He never imagined that after finally venturing out, he would somehow catch the eye of the most beautiful person under heaven.

Only later did he learn that he was the last “worldly entanglement” Yu Qingyan had before cultivating the Merciless Dao.

Yu Qingyan wanted to sever his seven emotions and six desires, and Shen Zhaodu became the sacrifice beneath that blade.

A hundred years later, when they met again, Yu Qingyan stood beside the Heart-Cleansing Pool, dressed in white as pure as snow, with peerless beauty, exactly as he had been in his previous life.

Shen Zhaodu glanced at him from a distance and thought: Oh, still as good-looking as ever.

Then he turned and left.

Yu Qingyan: “?”

He stood where he was, watching helplessly as that person passed by his side without so much as a glance.

In their previous life, this man had clearly... clearly been unable to take his eyes off him. Those striking peach-blossom eyes had always held a smile whenever they looked at him, curving slightly as if their gaze never left him. How could it be that in this life...

Yu Qingyan pressed his lips together and did not move.

He told himself he didn't care. He was the foremost immortal cultivator under heaven. Why would he care whether some independent cultivator looked at him?

Three days later, Shen Zhaodu set up a stall in the marketplace to sell talismans, and Yu Qingyan “happened” to pass by.

Five days later, Shen Zhaodu went hunting demons in a secret realm, and Yu Qingyan “happened” to be there too.

Seven days later, Shen Zhaodu ate at an inn. Yu Qingyan sat at the next table, ordered a feast, and didn't touch a single bite.

Shen Zhaodu finally looked up at him.

Yu Qingyan's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained cool and distant, every inch the future foremost immortal cultivator.

Shen Zhaodu said, “Fellow Daoist, are you following me?”

The fingers holding Yu Qingyan's chopsticks tightened slightly, and his eyelashes trembled. “...Your noodles look good. Could I have some?”

Shen Zhaodu looked at the banquet spread across his table. “...”

Later, Shen Zhaodu finally came to find him of his own accord.

Yu Qingyan was practicing swordplay. When he saw that figure appear at the mountain gate, his sword tip veered and sliced away half a fake mountain.

He steadied himself, sheathed his sword, and said coldly, “What do you want?”

“The matter of you killing me to prove your Dao in your previous life,” Shen Zhaodu said, looking him in the eye. “How do you plan to repay me in this life?”

Yu Qingyan's fingers clenched abruptly.

The mountain wind howled, whipping his robes around him. Standing at the highest point of the sect, the foremost immortal cultivator whom all cultivators under heaven looked up to suddenly felt unsteady on his feet.

“...How do you want me to repay you?”

Shen Zhaodu took out a Binding Immortal Rope. “Would you be so kind as to climb into it yourself, Venerable One?”

Reading Guide

1. The style of the blurb does not represent the style of the actual story. It is only meant to give you a general idea of where the plot is going.

2. The story is bittersweet and sweet, with the romance and plot woven together. Readers with strong preferences or sensitivities are advised not to read.

3. Neither the gong nor the shou is perfect. No matter how complicated their relationship becomes along the way, they will both love each other fiercely in the end.

4. The gong and shou are wholly devoted to each other. One-on-one, each other's first love.

5. The story is entirely fictional, with countless original worldbuilding details. I can only promise that my settings make sense within my own story. Everything serves the plot, so please don't nitpick or take it too seriously.

6. This is not a traditional serious historical drama. The author loves throwing in jokes. To make lighthearted scenes funnier, I occasionally use words and expressions that may not match people's stereotypical image of “ancient times.” If that bothers you, read with caution.

7. The characters' values do not represent the author's values. Please don't conflate them with real people.

This is an indulgent work written to satisfy the author's own tastes. Please go easy on me.

The gong's name is pronounced Yu, fourth tone, Xun, second tone.

8. The character reference illustrations were not commissioned. They were given for free by different artists, so variations in art style are normal. Thanks to @Lin Qinglan on Weibo and Mianmian Cihen on Jinjiang.

Anti-piracy measures are enabled. Once the main text is complete, 90 percent of the text will be protected. While it is still being serialized, the calculation will be adjusted according to the subscription rate of new chapters after the discounted chapters.

Theme: Love should be spoken aloud.