Springtime Awaits Within the Box

Also known as: The Heir Says One Thing but Means Another

An imperial decree bound two utterly different people from the capital together.

He was Gu Heng, heir to the Prince of Zhenbei's household, a notorious playboy who declared, “Marry a block of wood? I'd rather take a parrot that can talk!” On their wedding night, he was cold and cutting, and made a habit of humiliating her. He treated her like dirt.

She was Lin Qingwan, daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites, a demure young lady who went by the nickname “wooden beauty.” She silently endured his wild ways and violent temper, while keeping a long-ago bond buried deep in her heart. She thought she had been trapped in a living hell, but then...

His words were sharp as knives, but he was fiercely protective in practice. When his rowdy friends brought prostitutes to provoke her, he drove them out in a fury and sent them sprawling. When danger struck and claws were about to reach her, he appeared like a god to shield her. On a snowy night in a chilly pavilion, he awkwardly threw his still-warm outer robe over her.

She seemed gentle and obedient, but she had a quiet strength of her own. A bowl of warm porridge soothed his post-drinking misery. A “light read” struck precisely at his hidden weakness. And her calm gaze could somehow quiet his restless heart.

This duplicitous heir was racing headlong toward realizing just how good he had it.

A marriage forced upon them gradually blossomed into an inescapable, sweet bond amid chaotic daily life and feelings that quietly took root. When secrets from the past stirred their hearts, the playboy heir set out to win his wife back, while the gentle young lady found the courage to tame her husband. Together, they would write their own story of devotion.

Angst first, sweetness later!