The Princess's Rough-Hewn Lover

(The entire novel is written and ready. It's expected to be released in the second half of 2026. The blurb may be tweaked from time to time, but the heart of the story will never change.)

- A melodramatic one-woman-two-men rivalry for her heart / bright, spoiled princess x brooding, possessive consort vs. fiery, devoted, rugged blacksmith

#Homegrown flowers are fragrant, and so are wild ones

Blurb:

A year after marrying her consort, Princess Zhong Yiling of Ning'an suddenly "grew tired of him."

Her consort, Helan Xun, was born into a distinguished family. Before turning thirty, he had already joined the ranks of the high nobility. Handsome and refined, he was as distant as the moon, someone to admire from afar but never approach.

Zhong Yiling lost her head over his looks the second time they met. She rushed to marry him despite his being ten years older.

But after the wedding, she discovered that her consort had plenty of faults:

For one, he was always jealous. If she so much as chatted with a male guard in the residence, the man would be sent away the next day.

For another, he was too controlling, regulating every part of her daily life. Even when they were intimate, he held back.

Even when he was under the influence of an aphrodisiac, he would gently hold her hand as it wandered over his belt and softly remind her:

"Please take care of your health, Princess. You mustn't behave so recklessly."

Zhong Yiling had grown used to this, but there was always an emotion in her heart she couldn't quite explain.

Day after day, it slowly grew heavier...

Once, after a quarrel with her consort, she could no longer take it. She left a letter of separation and stormed out of the residence.

After slipping out alone through a secret passage, she got caught in a downpour that night. As she wandered aimlessly, a blacksmith took her in.

The room was tiny. She accidentally caught a glimpse of the young blacksmith changing clothes. Beads of sweat and raindrops ran together down his dark, muscular chest and disappeared at his strong, wolf-like waist...

That night, they slept under the same roof, each dreaming of something enchanting.

For the next few days, Zhong Yiling deliberately stayed away from home and passed the time at the young blacksmith's place.

They spent some time together, and they were both young and full of vigor... Then, on a night of thunder and rain, sparks flew between them.

Afterward, He Sui brushed the damp hair from her forehead and kissed it.

"I want to marry you."

Half-asleep, Zhong Yiling agreed.

When she came to her senses, she was caught in a dilemma, forced to juggle two men.

For one, once her anger had passed, she still loved her attentive consort.

For another, she craved He Sui's uninhibited passion, the new experiences he offered, and the freer life she could have with him.

She came to a frightening realization...

There was room in her heart for two people.

When Helan Xun learned the princess had taken a lover, he abandoned his heavy workload and rushed straight to the blacksmith's shop, determined to get rid of the nuisance for her.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw a broad-shouldered man working at the forge, bare-chested and sweating profusely. Sparks landed on his clean clothes, leaving several black spots.

Helan Xun couldn't help frowning. How could such a crude man dare to lay a hand on the princess? A lowly nobody like him wasn't fit to gaze up at the moon.

At the thought of the two of them lying together on a creaking wooden bed, seeking pleasure beneath a patched quilt, Helan Xun restrained his anger and approached with a dark expression.

"Thank you for looking after the princess these past few days. Here's a thousand taels of silver. It'll be enough to provide for you for the rest of your life..."

He Sui snatched the banknote and tossed it straight into the fire without even looking at it. He declared his claim, one word at a time:

"One day, I'll win her back."

Many years ago, He Sui learned by chance that he was the illegitimate son of the powerful Helan clan. But he had no wish to reclaim his birthright. He only wanted to live an ordinary life.

Then he met Zhong Yiling and unexpectedly learned she was a princess. The heart that had been content with a simple life began to stir...

He wanted neither wealth nor glory. He only wanted to rise high enough to be worthy of the princess.

In that moment, He Sui resolved to reclaim everything that belonged to him.

Bonus scene:

One day, just before dawn, Zhong Yiling hurriedly dressed and returned to the princess's residence from the blacksmith's shop. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

When she woke, she found herself in the bath, held close by Helan Xun. He had cast aside his usual restraint and abstinence, pressing intimately against her.

Zhong Yiling snapped angrily, "I went to see him again. What are you going to do about it?"

Helan Xun pinned her against the warm stone wall. Beneath his gentle demeanor lurked a possessiveness on the verge of breaking free.

"It was all my fault before. I let people with ulterior motives get close to you. From now on, let me make it up to you properly."

Reader's guide:

1. Both men are male leads. The heroine is faithful in both body and heart. The ending has all three together. The consort is ten years older; the blacksmith and the princess are both eighteen.

2. A melodramatic romance with no major political schemes, written as practice for a three-person relationship story.

3. Both male leads know about each other. The blacksmith hasn't been deceived and is willing to be her lover on the side. The consort isn't being kept in the dark either. As the saying goes, everyone else is just a hotel, but I'm home.

4. The setting is loosely based on the early Tang dynasty, but is otherwise fictional.

P.S. This is written with a one-woman-two-men pairing in mind. Please don't leave comments accusing the heroine of being unfaithful.

Blurb archived on 2025.09.15

Theme: Striving, striving, startling a flock of gulls and herons into flight.