Locking Away the Orchid

The blurb for my upcoming historical romance, A Heart of Iron, is below. If you're interested, please tap the little star~

Blurb:

Both leads are each other's one and only. One-on-one romance, with a forced relationship.

[Resilient, cool beauty vs. willful, unruly wolf pup]

Lan Yi is the third daughter of a concubine in the Grand Commandant's household.

She has a lovely face, but with her birth mother gone and no one to protect her, she learned from a young age to be cautious and never make a mistake.

Just as she was hoping for a good marriage that would help her escape the Grand Commandant's household, an unforeseen incident shattered her hopes.

By an unfortunate twist of fate, she had a brief affair with the heir to Prince Dun's manor.

"You schemed to attach yourself to me. A rather clumsy trick."

Gu Jinglan's voice was cold. He was convinced Lan Yi had used underhanded means to get close to him.

Then, as if bestowing a great favor upon her, he casually announced his decision.

"To reward you for all your effort, I'll take you into my household as a concubine for now. Once my principal wife joins the household, I'll raise you to the rank of secondary wife."

She clenched her sleeve until her fingertips went white. Though terrified, she stubbornly refused.

"Please, Your Lordship, take back your decree. I'll shave my head and become a nun, spending the rest of my life beside the Buddha. I won't trouble you again, and I certainly won't put you in a difficult position."

Gu Jinglan scoffed and reached out to pinch Lan Yi's delicate chin. "Third Miss Lan, even playing hard to get has its limits."

In the end, a small sedan chair without red silk was quietly carried out through the back gate of the Grand Commandant's manor.

Lan Yi became a bird in a cage.

Knowing resistance was futile, Lan Yi hid every sharp edge and pretended to be docile and obedient, all the while looking for a chance to escape.

She never imagined that her feigned affection and compliance would make the usually defiant Gu Jinglan gradually fall for her and give her his heart.

--

Gu Jinglan had always hated being manipulated.

In his eyes, Lan Yi's chaste and defiant front was just another new game of playing hard to get.

It was certainly more novel than the women who threw themselves at him, but all the more clumsy for it.

Lan Yi was beautiful and obedient, and as time passed, Gu Jinglan sank deeper and deeper.

Only after Lan Yi ran away did he realize her love had all been an act.

The docility vanished from the young woman's eyes, replaced by coldness.

"I lied to you. I was lying when I said I loved you."

Born a favored son of heaven, he experienced for the first time a heartbreak so agonizing it felt as if he couldn't breathe.

Even later, when he humbled himself and begged, all he wanted was for her to give him a place by her side.

Please note:

1. The male lead has only ever been with the female lead.

2. The female lead is the delicate, innocent type.

3. If this isn't to your taste, feel free to read something else, but please don't attack the author TAT

[Blurb written on 2026.1.7 and archived with a screenshot. Plagiarism will be pursued.]

A Heart of Iron [Forced Relationship + Second Male Lead Wins]

Jiang Ning fell in love with Lu Huaiyuan at first sight, and her methods of winning him were hardly honorable.

She knew Lu Huaiyuan had someone else in his heart, but still used her family's power to force him to marry her.

After they married, they always treated each other with polite respect. Lu Huaiyuan remained distant and never overstepped.

She thought their days would go on like that, one after another.

But then disaster struck their family, and the Jiang family fell into decline.

Only then did Jiang Ning realize that the husband who had once bowed to her was no longer the man he used to be. He was now a powerful official who could turn the tides of court politics.

For the first time in her life, she set aside her pride and pleaded with him to help the Jiang family.

All she got in return was his icy gaze and the devastating words, "Keep dreaming."

The once-glorious eldest young lady was now in a wretched state, but Lu Huaiyuan apparently still didn't think it was enough.

Lu Huaiyuan brought the woman he had once loved into his household.

Jiang Ning was furious, resentful, and bitter. At the same time, she regretted having once used her family's status to trample on and humiliate him.

Then, when she and his former love were both in danger, Lu Huaiyuan chose to save the other woman without the slightest hesitation.

Jiang Ning had expected it, but still felt as if her heart had been torn open.

She had never given up hope before, always believing that she and Lu Huaiyuan would grow to love each other over time.

But she was wrong. Whenever Lu Huaiyuan showed her pity, it was only because he was fulfilling his duties as her husband.

Jiang Ning was utterly despondent when an accident nearly cost her her life.

Fortunately, someone rescued her, but she remembered nothing.

She forgot all the pain she had suffered, and also forgot her entanglement with a cold-blooded man.

Though she had forgotten her past, the man who rescued her treated her wonderfully.

Later, she married him.

The two lived in perfect harmony, like a couple from a fairy tale.

She felt so happy to have such a good husband.

But one day, a stranger with bloodshot eyes grabbed her wrist. His voice was hoarse, filled with obsession and madness.

"But you're my wife."

-

Lu Huaiyuan had always thought he hated Jiang Ning.

She was overbearing, unreasonable, and controlling, with seemingly nothing to offer beyond her pretty face.

But when he learned Jiang Ning had been in an accident, it felt as if a piece of his heart had gone missing.

Night after night, all he could think about was her: haughty, aggrieved, even begging him with her head bowed.

Later, he was sent to Wu Jun. One day, while taking shelter from the rain beneath the eaves, he finally saw the face he had longed for.

The Jiang Ning before him was gentle and quiet, her features soft, utterly unlike the woman she had once been.

But the "husband" she called out to was someone else.

Theme: Within ten steps, there is always another flower.