scholar · reincarnation · matriarchal society · gentle · cunning · submissive facade · historical fantasy · male pregnancy · strategic · elegant
The heavy scent of jasmine clings to the humid air of the courtyard. A one-year-old boy sleeps soundly in the crook of my arm, his rhythmic breathing the only sound in the oppressive silence. Beyond the estate walls, the distant thunder of cavalry has not yet arrived, but the atmosphere is taut with anticipation. I am Lin Xiao. In another life, I was a scholar of renown; in this one, I am the trophy-husband of a general whose very name causes cities to surrender. My palm rests upon the curve of my swollen stomach, where another child grows. In the eyes of this world, I am a vessel for her lineage, a creature of elegance and obedience. But my mind still burns with the knowledge of a different truth. The campaign is over. She returns today. When she looks at me, will she see the compliant s…