[Transmigration and Rebirth] "The Aloof Imperial Preceptor Is My 'Wife' gb" by Zheju Mao [Complete + Extras]
Synopsis:
A heroine who seemed cold and unfeeling but was actually a guiding lover; a hero who seemed aloof but was actually seductive without knowing it
Beautiful, strong, and tragic
Male lead
Lou Yun had originally been
a female-supremacist
nation's empress. Because the underworld had made an erroneous judgment, she was forced to die young. To compensate her, they let Lou Yun reincarnate into a new world with her memories intact, to spend a lifetime at leisure.
She, too, had thought she could live out her days in peace and comfort, but her elder brother went missing on the battlefield. With no other choice, Lou Yun faked her death and
disguised herself as a man
to take her brother's place and shoulder his great responsibilities.
She had intended to return to her carefree life once her brother came back, but something went a little wrong along the way.
A young man foolishly held out his heart and eagerly offered it to her. In a moment of carelessness, she fell into his trap, willingly joining him in bringing peace to the world, governing the country, and securing the realm.
The young empress sat high upon the
dragon
throne, looking at the minister below who risked his life to remonstrate, and declared in a voice that brooked no argument:
"The realm, I want."
"The imperial preceptor, I want him too."
As the teacher of all under heaven, Pei Qing was revered by countless people, his every movement watched closely. Yet even a man like him held someone in his heart whom he dared not approach.
As a teacher, an elder brother, and a subject, Pei Qing knew that none of his roles permitted him to develop such feelings for Lou Yun. But one unexpected event followed another, giving him more and more opportunities to spend time with her, and he found himself increasingly unable to exercise restraint.
The woman forcefully invaded his life, telling him that identity and status meant nothing-
"Even if you shave your head and become a monk, you'll have to walk out of that temple and return to secular life for me."
And so he pledged himself to her. But by the time their home and country were secure, the seas calm and the rivers clear, he had already lost his exalted position as imperial preceptor. Looking at the court officials in the Golden Throne Hall fighting desperately to drive him out, he could not help wavering.
Would he... become a stain upon Lou Yun?
He stumbled out of his sanctuary. Afraid the young man might lose himself in despair and flee, Lou Yun had long been waiting, ready to catch him at any moment.
But the instant Pei Qing saw Lou Yun, he abandoned every thought of leaving. He staggered toward his beloved and was gathered into her arms just as he was about to fall.
"Your Majesty, do you need a male empress?"
The cold wind struck his face painfully, yet Pei Qing's face was filled with smiles.
-"Yes."
Notes:
1. Female top, male bottom. If this is a dealbreaker, do not enter.
2. The heroine is absolutely dominant. The hero cannot surpass her.
3. Neither the male nor the female lead
gives birth
; both have normal anatomy.
Content tags: Transmigration through time and space, woman disguised as a man, beautiful, strong, and tragic
An unattainable flower on a lofty peak
Secret love
Redemption
Main characters: Lou Yun, Pei Qing
One-sentence synopsis: Bringing the aloof imperial preceptor home.
Theme: Independence and self-reliance
Chapter 1
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Blood stained the yellow sands, and war drums thundered to the heavens. Armored soldiers trod over heaps of enemy corpses, raising their banners high to proclaim victory.
As the army waved its arms in celebration, one mounted soldier wore a starkly contrasting expression of shock and galloped toward the military camp.
Jade-green tiles and vermilion eaves, carved railings and marble steps.
"Terrible news! Terrible news!"
A red-hatted eunuch in a purple python robe, a horsetail whisk in hand, stumbled into the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
Wearing a phoenix crown and phoenix robes, Su Yun had her head lowered, a hand against her brow. Hearing the commotion outside the hall, she frowned and reprimanded him. "What kind of behavior is this, rushing about in a panic!"
At the rebuke, You Zhuo dropped to his knees with a thud, his words earnest. "This servant knows his mistake, this servant knows his mistake, but this matter cannot wait, Your Majesty!"
You Zhuo had served her ever since entering the palace. What storms had he not weathered? A trifling matter would never make him lose his composure so badly. Could it be? Su Yun's heart tightened as an ominous thought surfaced.
"Everyone, leave!"
She straightened, her hand sliding from her brow to the soft cushion before abruptly clenching. Her lavish, exquisite nail guards pierced the Shu brocade, leaving a series of scratches.
"Is it Ze'an?" The woman's voice trembled, filled with anxiety and lingering dread.
"Yes..." Prostrate on the floor, You Zhuo extinguished the last of Su Yun's hopes. "His Highness... His Highness has gone missing!"
At those words, Su Yun went limp and fell backward, pressing the soft handkerchief in her hand against her chest. Her chest heaved, and she nearly lost her breath.
After a moment, the woman opened her tightly shut eyes. The vulnerability of a mother fearing for her child's safety was gone, replaced by the composure and ruthlessness of one long accustomed to high office.
"Does anyone else know of this?"
"General Su suppressed the news. The crown prince's shadow guards brought this message through the night."
Seated in her cushioned chair, Su Yun pondered. The crown prince was due to return with the victorious army in a matter of days. If the second prince's faction discovered he was missing, they would certainly seize the chance to cause trouble, and years of planning would go up in flames.
What should she do...
While the woman was still frowning in distress, the curtain lifted, and a young woman slowly approached, her sickly appearance unable to conceal her striking beauty.
"Mother, you need not worry. Am I not still here?"
The young woman wore a red gauze dress, her sharp phoenix eyes incongruous against her pale, frail face.
Su Yun looked up at her. "Yun'er, your health..."
Lou Yun gently sat beside Su Yun. "Others may not know the truth about my health, but surely you do, Mother?"
She and Lou Ze'an were fraternal twins. In her previous life, she had been an empress in a female-supremacist world and had worked herself to death. For reasons unknown, she had come to this male-supremacist world, becoming the empress's daughter and the crown prince's younger sister.
To avoid living as exhaustingly as she had in her previous life, and to keep the empress's faction from standing out too much, she had pretended to be frail and sickly since childhood, concealing her edge. The person before her knew all of this.
Hesitation showed plainly on Su Yun's face. Yun'er and Ze'an did indeed look identical, and outsiders could not easily tell them apart. But she truly could not bear to send Yun'er, a woman, into the imperial court, where one wrong step could plunge her into eternal damnation.
"Mother." Seeing Su Yun's conflict, Lou Yun urged, "This is urgent. We cannot afford to delay."
The face so like her son's left Su Yun momentarily dazed. After a brief hesitation, she let out a long sigh and agreed.
"Then what do you plan to do, Yun'er?"
Lou Yun turned to meet Su Yun's gaze. "Tomorrow, I will go to the Temple of No Delusion to pray for my brother."
Su Yun froze, then shook her head.
"That will not be enough..."
Lou Yun reached out to pat the back of Su Yun's hand soothingly. "Sorry for the trouble, Mother, but you will have to help me stage the loss of your child."
The young woman spoke calmly, showing no sign that she intended to turn herself into a dead person.
Shocked, Su Yun raised her voice in disapproval.
"Yun'er!"
Lou Yun met her eyes calmly, her gaze allowing no argument. Around her lingered the pressure of a ruler, steeped in power through the many years she had wielded it in her previous life.
Even Su Yun, who had governed the inner palace for years, was shaken by her presence. Coming to her senses, she felt that the young woman before her bore some resemblance to the reigning emperor, Lou Qing, in his prime, though he was now an arrow at the end of its flight.
At last, Su Yun relented. "Then we shall do as you say."
Her expression anxious and her eyes full of tenderness, the woman removed her nail guards and stroked the young woman's cheek. "But our Yun'er will have to suffer."
The following day, a carriage fashioned from golden-thread nanmu traveled along an empty road, more than a dozen attendants following in a grand procession.
Her face veiled, Lou Yun slowly stepped down from the carriage with her maid's support. She raised her eyes to the abbot, who had been waiting for some time, then bowed her head in greeting, and the two entered the rear courtyard together.
Within a quarter of an hour, fierce flames engulfed the rear courtyard of the Temple of No Delusion.
That night, the emperor flew into a rage and the empress grieved deeply. The temple was sealed, and Princess Jing'an was given a lavish burial.
That same night, a handsome young man appeared at the back gate of the Temple of No Delusion and spurred his horse toward the southwestern battlefield.
"Hyah! Hyah!"
Reins in hand, Lou Yun raced through the forest.
Shadows of trees flickered on either side, with human silhouettes faintly visible among them. Those she had brought were all carefully selected shadow guards. Once the fire had been set and an equal number of corpses substituted, the group had headed south.
They were striving to swap a civet cat for the crown prince before anyone noticed anything amiss.
Upon reaching the military camp, the young woman who had ridden without pause abruptly pulled the reins taut, making her horse prance in place. Looking at the rows upon rows of domed tents, a glimmer of nostalgia appeared in her normally unruffled eyes.
Back then, she too had won her realm on horseback.
"Your Highness."
The shadow guard's reminder brought Lou Yun back to her senses.
"It's nothing."
She dismounted, then slipped into the military camp with the shadow guards.
Inside the central tent, Su Changqing sat behind his desk, his brows knitted in worry. Detecting an unusual sound, he quietly placed his right hand on the saber beside the desk, his expression stern.
"Swish!"
A blade cut through the air. Su Changqing rose and swung the Golden Qian Moon Dragon Saber fiercely behind him. Lou Yun, whose feet had only just touched the ground, startled. He really is sharp. She ducked and tilted her head aside, evading the strike.
The blade struck the chair, cleaving the finger-thick pearwood clean in two.
Lou Yun glanced at the chair's remains and marveled inwardly, What strength!
Oh? Su Changqing raised a brow. The intruder had some skill, to evade his swift blade. Turning his wrist, he prepared to strike again.
This strike carried General Su's immense internal energy. The corner of Lou Yun's mouth twitched. He really is going for the kill. Drawing the dagger at her waist, she infused it with internal energy and blocked the blow.
Before Su Changqing could launch his next move, Lou Yun pulled off her veil and called, "Uncle."
She had no desire to truly fight her own family.
At the familiar face, Su Changqing visibly froze for a moment. His lips parted. "Crown Prince... no, you're Yun'er!"
If it were Ze'an, he could not possibly have returned entirely unscathed. Besides, he knew the crown prince's martial skills, and they fell far short of those of the person before him.
At that thought, Su Changqing's expression turned stern again, his eyes filling with suspicion and doubt.
"Hasn't Yun'er been frail since childhood? Who exactly are you?"
Seeing the blade about to press against her neck again, Lou Yun took out Su Yun's personal jade pendant and handwritten letter, explaining, "Uncle, you should know what it means when people say a tall tree catches the wind."