After My Nemesis Became My Concubine

A vengeful, obsessive, unhinged top vs. a cool, aloof, proud bottom

Angst and groveling, happy ending

*

Xiao Xuanyi, the only daughter of the Grand Princess who protects the country, has always loved doing two things most.

First, sitting in a tree and pelting the little stickler from the Yan family with pebbles.

Second, watching Yan Qingshuang press her lips together without a word after being hit, still maintaining her impeccable composure.

Their carefree youth went on until Xiaoxiang was besieged and rebel forces attacked the city.

Xiao Xuanyi rode hard to the rescue, entrusting all her parents and family to Yan Qingshuang.

After days without food or water, she rushed back through the night, only to see, among the heaps of corpses,

Yan Qingshuang walking calmly away from the Xiao residence with a bloodstained sword in hand, showing not the slightest fear.

Her clothes were unstained with blood, her steps unhurried.

All twenty members of her family had been wiped out.

Yan Qingshuang, once as pure as a spring breeze and bright moon, who held the people in her heart, had joined the rebel forces.

Hatred swirled in Xiao Xuanyi's eyes.

She dragged herself back to the capital, surviving by a hair, and finally met Yan Qingshuang again.

Xiao Xuanyi watched Yan Qingshuang lose her soldiers and abandon her pawns, waiting for the pathetic sight of her wagging her tail and begging for mercy.

Blood sprayed everywhere as Yan Qingshuang was slammed onto the roof tiles by an arrow, her clothes disheveled.

Xiao Xuanyi approached at an unhurried pace, then kicked Yan Qingshuang to the ground, planted a foot on her chest, and pulled out the arrow.

Three years had passed. At last, Xiao Xuanyi's long-cherished wish was coming true:

She would torment Yan Qingshuang, her former friend, until she was broken.

*

Once a proper gentleman, Yan Qingshuang had become a lowly concubine. The tendons in her right wrist had been severed, and her bones broken one by one, leaving her like a miserable, helpless dog trapped in a muddy pit.

Xiao Xuanyi's expression was unreadable.

She stared at Yan Qingshuang's pale neck and suddenly remembered the night before, when she had gripped her by the waist.

With a soft, gentle voice, Xiao Xuanyi abruptly changed the subject. She stared with interest into Yan Qingshuang's eyes and asked in a low voice, "When you offered my father and mother as proof of your loyalty, did you ever regret it?"

Yan Qingshuang's long lashes trembled. She bit her lower lip, holding back her words, while her waist gradually went limp.

Her pale waist and back were wrapped in dark bedding, beads of sweat soaking much of the covers, an alluring sight.

Her eyes were red and wet. She turned her head away without a word.

"Write," Xiao Xuanyi said, kicking over the inkstone and giving her a mocking glance. "Write, 'Your Highness, spare my life.'"

Yan Qingshuang lowered her eyes and knelt on the ground, writing each stroke carefully.

Xiao Xuanyi did not even look up. She planted a foot on Yan Qingshuang's back and unfastened her jade belt hook.

The tip of her shoe traced Yan Qingshuang's exposed spine. The chill made Yan Qingshuang shiver with fear.

Yan Qingshuang's left cheek pressed against the wet ink. Her black hair spread out around her, her fragrant shoulders bare, like a beauty fresh from her bath.

But Xiao Xuanyi twisted her cruelly, showing not the slightest tenderness.

"Your handwriting is lovely," she said lazily, with a hint of disdain. "Much softer than your bones."

*

On the bed, Yan Qingshuang was wrapped in layer upon layer of a plain fox-fur robe. There was little color left in her face to begin with.

She opened her eyes slightly, utterly weak.

Yan Qingshuang suddenly remembered how, years ago, Xiao Xuanyi had snatched the agate-bead bracelet from her waist while she was caught off guard, tossed two pieces of fruit at her, and then laughed carefree and bright. "You can have it all."

But the person before her was no longer the person from back then.

Xiao Xuanyi had long since become suspicious and cruel, with an unmistakable well of resentment inside her.

In Xiaoxiang's dreamlike marshes, many bones lie unburied; bloodied souls loathe the living beneath the green earth.

Long have I loved, long have I hated, long shall I bear this life; a small boat beneath a sliver of moonlight shall carry me through my remaining years.

Brown broth spilled continuously from between Yan Qingshuang's lips. Then she vomited blood, exhausted.

Even if you hate me this much, I still want to atone.

But I am still a little afraid.

So, Jiuru, could you be a little gentler with me? Just a little gentler would be enough.

You used to know how afraid of pain I was.

I wronged you, and have wronged you for so long.

One-on-one, happy ending

Theme: Love life