SunBei

SunBei is the het ship between Sun Shangxiang (or Sun Ren) and Liu Bei from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms fandom.

Liu Bei's marriage to Sun Ren
Zhou Yu suggests that Sun Quan arrange a marriage with Sun Quan's younger sister in order to exchange Liu Bei's life for Jing Zhou. The sham marriage was supposed to be between Sun Ren (more commonly Sun Shangxiang) and Liu Bei, as Liu Bei's wife Lady Gan had died and Liu Bei fell into a state of distress. Liu Bei is initially wary of the invitation, but Zhuge Liang assured him he would be safe. Liu Bei also desires a new wife. After arriving, Zhao Yun asked his subordinates to go out and spread rumors that Sun Ren was getting married.

After Zhou Yu's plan for a sham marriage fall apart, he decides to let Liu Bei stay in Eastern Wu for as long as possible. Liu Bei had never experienced all of life's possible pleasures, as he was originally a peasant. Sun Quan constructs a palace for only Liu Bei and his wife, hoping that he will stay long enough and forget all of his responsibilities as a ruler. Sure enough, Liu Bei falls for the plan, forgetting all about Jing Zhou. He samples all of Eastern Wu's delicacies and spends his nights with his new life.

Sun Shangxiang's escape from Jing Zhou
When Liu Bei returned to Jing Zhou, he had mountains of work to do, so he had to leave his wife. Sun Shangxiang was arrogant and often acted up during her times there, often disregarding established rules. Liu Bei, listening to the words of his advisors, became more and more suspicious of her. One day, Sun Shangxiang received news that her mother was dying, and her elder brother sent a boat to fetch her. She was heartbroken and sent to Eastern Wu at once. She attempted to bring Liu Bei's son, Liu Shan, with her, believing that he was also her son, but Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei intercepted her boat and snatched the heir away from her. They claimed that Liu Shan was their only heir, and because he was a child of Liu Bei's previous wife (Lady Gan), Sun Ren had no right to claim him.

Fanon
is not a popular ship in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms fandom. Fans much prefer ships like XuanLiang and CaoLiu, as slash ships are much preferred. However, this ship is well liked in the western part of the fandom, mainly those that like Dynasty Warriors. In those fandoms, the female romantic interests are often heavily romanticized. Fans dislike that Luo Guanzhong forced Sun Shangxiang to leave Liu Bei, so they write their own universes where they get to stay together.

There are currently 14 fanfictions on AO3.

Fandom

 * FAN FICTION