Apricots in Full Bloom

[Proud, straightforward consort and her restrained, devoted imperial uncle]

In the spring of the third year of Shunhe, a shocking event rocked the court.

Su Yizhi, a general guarding the frontier, was exposed for embezzlement. Before the investigation could be completed, he died in an accident.

"Impossible! You're framing me! I won't accept this imperial edict!"

Su Xunyan dropped the edict and rushed for the door, but the guards held her back.

No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free.

Before long, a slender figure slowly walked in.

"You're all that's left of the Su family. Life will only bring you pain, so why don't I put an end to it for you?"

Her lips curled slightly, and the malice in her eyes was no longer concealed.

"By the way, your father really was framed. Your beloved and I set the whole thing up together."

Su Xunyan pulled out her hairpin and stabbed at her, but the other woman plunged a blade into her abdomen instead.

"Your Highness!"

When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the day of her twentieth birthday, before any of it had happened.

This time, she continued to play the part of the favored concubine. In private, she sought out the unfathomable imperial uncle, using herself as a bargaining chip to win her family a slim chance of survival.

He said nothing. After gazing at her with a complicated look for a long time, he replied, "All right."

For the first twenty years of his life, Han Yuanxiu lived freely, wanting for nothing.

Power and the throne could not stir the slightest ripple in him.

He thought he would live that way forever.

Until the spring banquet, when he happened to glance toward the lake and a young woman caught his eye.

At that moment, she was speaking with someone else. When she sensed him watching, she suddenly turned around.

Her eyes were clear as spring water, her smile bright.

With a single glance, the whole world fell silent.

So it turned out he wasn't someone who wanted for nothing.

From then on, he had a selfish desire, an obsession: he wanted to make her his alone.

Reader's guide:

1. A heroine who grows, awakens to love, and returns only for revenge

2. The hero secretly pines for her and holds back at first, then becomes fiercely possessive and openly pursues her

3. The heroine is not a virgin; the hero is. A one-on-one relationship at each stage, with a sweet happy ending

Theme: Keep hope in your heart and never stop moving forward