My Husband Is Clingy Today, Too

The full novel is complete. Only the authorized version is reliable; pirated copies are generally chaotic, since I kept revising the story while writing it, and I'll continue to fix mistakes from time to time.

The blurb for my next novel, "The Hanging Moon Above the Palace Wall," is at the end. It's already underway, so please take a look~

[Quirky Beauty × Gentle, Scheming Gentleman]

Shen Zhaoli, the second daughter of the Minister of Works, was born a beauty. Just after turning sixteen, she entered the General's residence and married the second son of the Shi family.

Shi Huaijin had heard that the second young lady of the Shen family was poised and graceful, accomplished in both looks and talent, and unlike the daughters of ordinary households. He had intended for them to treat each other with respect as honored guests. On their wedding night, he saw her just once

And that one glance was etched into his life forever.

After several months of marriage, they got along well. Just as Zhaoli was wavering over her feelings for him, he drew her into his arms before she could speak, after turning it over and over in his mind. Seeing how drunk he was, Zhaoli had no intention of holding it against him, but then he said

"Second Young Lady, I have feelings for you, but you..."

*

After the Shen family was suddenly confiscated and Zhaoli relied on the Shi family's influence to right the wrongful case, she resolved to live peacefully with Shi Huaijin.

So what if there was no love? They could nurture it.

And what if they couldn't? Zhaoli didn't care. There were far more important things in her life than love.

But Shi Huaijin's drunken confession, "I have feelings for the second young lady," made her uneasy.

*

In the dead of night, Zhaoli would always dream of the bamboo grove from her childhood, and the person in it.

There was no need to dwell on a childhood playmate, but Zhaoli couldn't forget him.

But now Shi Huaijin looked at her with such resolve time and again, always choosing her, no matter who was right or wrong.

She could usually handle everything with ease, yet in this moment, she suddenly realized she didn't know how to respond to him.

*

Shi Huaijin had never fought for anything in his life, nor would he allow anyone to make him betray his principles.

Except that he fell for Shen Zhaoli.

The little girl he met in the bamboo grove when he was ten,

whom he taught to read, and how to catch fish and crabs by the stream, whose childish chatter he listened to day after day...

Fate was kind to him. In the blink of an eye, the girl who had once chattered like a little bird came fluttering back to his side, and even became his wife.

From then on, all his principles crumbled. For her, he defied the ruler, opposed patriarchal authority, and aided the displaced. For the sake of her beliefs, he was willing to bow his head.

He wanted little from life. Only Zhaoli was what he sought.

Reader's Guide:

One-on-one romance, four-year age gap, both leads are virgins.

The heroine is neither a dependent wife nor a strong, all-powerful heroine.

The hero falls for the heroine at first sight.

A gentle, sweet story with little in the way of major twists and turns.

A friendly heads-up:

The emperor and empress in this novel aren't exactly the same couple as the male and female leads in my new novel. As I wrote the new novel, it turned out very different from what I'd originally planned. I never intended Pei Xuan to be the male lead, but the plot took on a life of its own. So don't worry about any crossover. Just consider the two couples separately.

Blurb for the upcoming novel "The Hanging Moon Above the Palace Wall"

[Resilient Noblewoman × Scheming Emperor]

Childhood sweethearts | Female lead isn't a virgin, male lead is | □□ literature | Rekindled love

Yu Yuechu was born with a face like a peach blossom. Well-read and well-mannered, with a father who held the high office of Grand Marshal, she was also childhood friends with the Seventh Prince, Pei Xuan. They seemed destined for each other.

But at fifteen, she climbed into the bridal sedan of the Fifth Prince, Pei Feng.

The wind howled that night. She remembered it clearly, and it was the first time she'd seen the undisguised desire for power in Pei Xuan's eyes.

*

In a flash, seven years had passed, and a great army stood at the borders.

The Fifth Prince was demoted in a single day, and his entire household was exiled to Lingnan.

Then the new emperor ascended the throne.

Pei Xuan threatened Yu Yuechu with the lives of hundreds of members of the Yu family, forcing her to enter the palace as empress.

*

That night, a brilliant red palanquin carried Yu Yuechu into the palace.

The nuptial wine slid down her throat. Red candlelight reflected on Pei Xuan's face as he raised a hand and gently stroked her cheek.

Yu Yuechu lowered her eyes and refused to move, silently resisting. He thought she must hate him.

In just a few breaths,

Yu Yuechu felt the distance between them suddenly close

The fabric beneath her knees was replaced by a brocade quilt, and she felt his warm breath. She heard the man's deep, hoarse voice by her ear

"As you wish. If you don't love me, then hate me."

"Pei Xuan, I'm pregnant." Yu Yuechu whispered beside his ear, her voice utterly calm.

Her words weighed like a thousand catties, like a blade slowly piercing Pei Xuan's heart.

He gave a mocking laugh and stepped away. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to touch her, and even raised his Fifth Brother's son as his own.

*

In the bitter winter three years later, they had a daughter.

Yu Yuechu held her newborn daughter in her arms, kissed her forehead, and named her

Xuning.

Winter sunlight fell on mother and daughter. Only then did Pei Xuan understand

She didn't reject the child they might have had together.

She rejected him.

Reader's Guide:

1. The dynasties are a complete mishmash. This is a wholly fictional setting with no real-life inspirations.

2. The heroine and the second male lead consummate their marriage. They are husband and wife in name and law, and there is no rule that says the heroine must preserve her chastity for the male lead. If this bothers you, please don't read.

3. The heroine loves the second male lead. Her feelings for both male leads are complicated. If this bothers you, please don't read.

4. At the start of the heroine's marriage to the second male lead, she remains in contact with the male lead, and there is constant tension between them. That tension only ends seven years later.

5. The male lead and second male lead love only the heroine from beginning to end, and have no one else.

6. Please don't judge any character from a moral high ground. After all, we write novels to give everyone a bit of fun.

Theme: I say I love you, and it has nothing to do with who you are