Doubt Between Two Hearts

[Complete]

After Zhou conquered Qi, Crown Prince Xiao Min of Zhou abducted a beauty from the hands of Qi's ruler.

The beauty, Xu Weining, had a face like peach blossoms and plum flowers, and looked delicate and pitiful. He was also docile and gentle in bed, his catlike cries leaving Xiao Min completely enchanted.

Xiao Min granted him the Eastern Palace's jade token, letting him run wild. After ascending the throne, he even drafted an edict to make him a consort. He doted on him beyond measure, utterly unable to stop himself.

That was, until the remnants of Qi rose in rebellion and blood stained the Golden Throne Hall. Only then did Xiao Min learn that Xu Weining was no pampered beauty at all. He was the son of Qi's former prime minister, a trusted aide to the ruler of Qi, renowned throughout the court and a brilliant young talent.

*

Xu Weining had schemed every way he could, enduring humiliation beneath the Zhou crown prince for more than a decade. In the end, all his efforts came to nothing, and he pulled out his hairpin and took his own life.

As he lay dying, he heard Xiao Min curse him with all the fury and resentment in his heart:

"Xu Weining, I'll make sure you can't rest in peace even after you're dead!"

Xu Weining didn't take him seriously in the slightest. He closed his eyes and went to meet the King of Hell.

He never met the King of Hell. Instead, he saw Xiao Min again.

Xu Weining was reborn eight years earlier, back in the Eastern Palace, when Xiao Min doted on him most. The two were entwined together on the bed, cuddling close and whispering sweet nothings, just as before.

There was still time to turn everything around.

Just as Xu Weining was about to sigh over how kind fate had been to him, he heard Xiao Min give a sinister laugh beside his ear. His voice was chilling, like an evil spirit's:

"My dear Minglang, I had a very interesting dream. In it, you turned out to be a remnant of Qi, forced to lie beneath me and play the devoted lover so you could bring down Great Zhou. All those usual acts of affection were just tricks to fool me into thinking I was an idiot. Minglang, tell me, wasn't my dream interesting?"

Xu Weining: "..."

Why had this guy been reborn too?

Mad, resentful husband gong * Beautiful, scheming actor shou

Xiao Min * Xu Weining

[⭐ There will be physical abuse early on, followed by a groveling pursuit later. The middle is sweet with shards of glass mixed in. This is not a conventional scum-and-victim story. Every viewpoint serves the characters, so it may not suit readers with strict character loyalties. ⭐]

* Both leads are pure in body and heart, each other's first love, and mutually devoted. One-on-one, happy ending.

* The shou has a mass-appeal quality (some side characters have unrequited crushes on him).

* The author's brain is smooth, with gaps in the logic and zero political scheming skills. Low-IQ scenes are just for a laugh, so don't overthink them.

---------------- This is a divider ----------------

⭐ Next up: "The Proud Dragon's Vicious Husband". Blurb:

Xiao Zhi, a furnace vessel of low birth but extraordinary beauty, drowned and woke up inside a storybook, reincarnated as Li Yuetang, the precious only legitimate young son of a powerful immortal sect. Having risen from the mud to the clouds, his dark side came roaring out.

He used his status to bully the sect's chief disciple, attacked a scion of a family allied with his own for no reason other than disliking him, and humiliated his frustrated, disgraced fiancé, publicly tearing up the marriage contract arranged for them before they were even born.

His fiancé, Xie Wugou, left him with a harsh warning: "Just you wait." Then he swept away.

Li Yuetang didn't care.

But his smooth-sailing days didn't last. The System finally came online: Xie Wugou was the story's protagonist, a Proud Dragon who would soon return after reaching great power, take revenge on you, destroy you, and utterly annihilate your sect.

Li Yuetang was horrified. He couldn't bear the thought of going back to his former life of low status, so he fretted and schemed day and night, wondering how he could defeat Xie Wugou.

After thinking it over, he realized he had nothing but his good looks.

*

After Xie Wugou was humiliated and had his engagement broken off by Li Yuetang, he spent sleepless nights with bloodshot eyes, vowing to reach the pinnacle of the cultivation world and return to Li Yuetang from a position of power.

He wanted to see regret on Li Yuetang's face and hear him hint that he wanted to get back together. Then Xie Wugou would humiliate him in return: If only you'd known better from the start.

...Though if Li Yuetang truly regretted it, Xie Wugou might be merciful enough to forgive him a little.

If Li Yuetang was truly desperate to reconcile, he could reluctantly agree. After all, he was powerful and famous. He shouldn't seem too petty.

Who could have guessed that before he ever saw Li Yuetang regret his choice, Xie Wugou would see a whole crowd of men around him?

And Li Yuetang was hiding behind them, his eyes fixed on Xie Wugou with wariness.

Cold, aloof Proud Dragon on the outside, clingy and jealous gong underneath * Evil, ill-tempered, devastatingly beautiful shou with mass appeal

Xie Wugou * Li Yuetang

Theme: To establish a heart for the world