The Crown Prince's Hidden Beauty

He Shuangshuang was the daughter of a man’s mistress, but her father’s affection for her won her the good fortune of being selected for the palace. She became a companion to the princes, and even the emperor held her in his arms and asked which prince she liked best. Young and fond of handsome faces, she took one look at the second prince hiding behind the others and chose him, calling him “handsome big brother” over and over in a sweet, bashful voice.

Xiao Heyao’s mother held a low rank. He kept his talents hidden in the palace’s treacherous, ever-changing struggle for survival. He never expected a soft, baby-faced little girl to take a liking to him one day. Suddenly, he went from being utterly overlooked to becoming the most envied person at the Imperial Academy. Even his father, the emperor, eventually gave him the chance to train with the army.

When they met again, she was a criminal slave who had injured the crown prince, tortured until she was near death and abandoned in the pouring rain. He was Prince Xin, wielding military power over a vast region and on the verge of crushing the crown prince, a man whose influence reached across the court.

Through countless nights spent whispering close together and tangled beneath the red covers, she called him “big brother” in a soft, bashful voice, making his heart sing. Yet at the crucial moment of the succession struggle, she tried to escape his control.

Furious, Xiao Heyao had her brought back, then turned around and placed her on the empress’s throne...