Cool and Talented? I’m Just Pretending

Everyone in Chang'an thinks Jiang Yun, the legitimate daughter of the Jing'an Marquis's household, is a celestial beauty descended from heaven: aloof and proud, with a reputation for talent that outshines all of Chang'an.

No one knows that this “greatest talented woman in Chang'an” secretly loves to perch on walls and munch on candied fruit, and that her entire store of poetic talent comes from her family's lavish praise.

By imperial decree, Jiang Yun marries the cold-faced Crown Prince, known as a “living game of chess.” Everyone in Chang'an holds their breath for her: when two icebergs come together, surely life will be miserable.

On their wedding night, he lifts her veil and says, “Wasn't it exhausting, keeping up the act all this time?”

It turns out he saw through her true nature from the very first time they met. He doesn't expose her; instead, he indulges her in everything and protects her at every turn, letting her be her real self around him: a greedy, fiercely loyal chatterbox who talks a mile a minute.