The Cui Clan of Qinghe: The Bright Moon in My Embrace

Cui Mingtang, the youngest legitimate daughter of the main branch of the Qinghe Cui clan, was a true jewel, cherished in the palms of her family’s hands.

Her father was a great scholar of the age, her mother came from the Lanling Xiao clan, and all three of her elder brothers were promising young talents. The family’s only worry was how to find a match worthy, however barely, of their exceptionally accomplished daughter and sister.

In her previous life, Cui Mingtang married into the Eastern Palace as the Crown Princess for the sake of her family. Virtuous and wise, she kept the palace in perfect order and helped the Crown Prince secure his hold on the court. In return, she earned her husband’s suspicion and was framed by his concubines, until she died in despair in the Cold Palace. Just before she closed her eyes, she heard the horns beyond the palace walls: her three brothers were leading troops to storm the palace, ready to perish with their enemies.

When she opened her eyes again, she was sixteen, on the day before the Hundred Flowers Banquet.

In her previous life, it was at this banquet that the Crown Prince had taken notice of her at first sight.

This time, she deliberately knocked over a teacup and stained her fine clothes, then used it as an excuse to leave. But beneath an apricot tree in the back garden, she stumbled upon a black-clad youth, covered in blood, climbing over the wall.

His features were as sharp as a blade. He clutched his wound, yet grinned at her, showing a pointed canine. “Miss, mind if I hide here for a while?”

Only later did she learn that the “thief” who had climbed over the wall was none other than Huo Jingyun, the heir to the Prince of Zhennan, famed for his ferocity and stationed on the northern frontier.

Later still, when the Crown Prince proposed to her again, the emperor on the throne smiled and asked, “Miss Cui, are you willing?”

In the utter silence of the hall, Cui Mingtang lifted her head, her gaze clear and firm. “Your subject is not willing.”

She turned and looked toward the tall figure at the end of the military officials’ ranks, a