I Accidentally Offended My Uncle

Xue Ying was breathtakingly beautiful, with skin like jade and a figure as delicate as ice. She was Yangzhou’s most expensive courtesan-in-training, and on the day she came of age, the prefect bought her for a thousand gold pieces.

On the night she entered his residence, she dreamed that before long, the legal wife would frame her and drown her in a pond.

She awoke in a panic and risked her life to flee the residence, only to stumble into someone’s arms at the mouth of an alley.

When she looked up, she saw a man in a dark sable cloak, standing in the drizzle, his tall figure like a lone pine capped with snow. His phoenix eyes lowered without a ripple of emotion, yet the pursuers behind her dropped to their knees, trembling and afraid to speak.

Only later did she learn that he was Chu Yunqi, Duke Mu, who had come from the capital.

A first-rank noble, he commanded the imperial forces around the capital and had helped the young emperor ascend the throne. He had come south this time to find his orphaned adopted sister, who had been missing for many years.

Xue Ying bit her lower lip, calculating to herself: He’s such a powerful official. If I can get close to him, I’ll never have to worry about wealth and status again. Maybe... I should give it a try?

Chu Yunqi had traveled south to Yangzhou to find someone.

He hadn’t found the person, but a vain young woman had latched onto him instead.

She kept appearing before him by coincidence. He could clearly see the cautious ambition and yearning in her eyes, but he only turned away coldly.

Until one night, returning from a banquet with wine in his veins, he pushed open the door and saw her standing in the candlelight in a sheer robe. Her eyes shimmered, her beauty radiant. “My lord, please take pity on me...”

When he sobered, he sat up on the bed, his expression impossible to read in the dim light. After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice calm. “Once I find the person I’m looking for, I’ll take you to the capital and make arrangements for you.”

In the end, he found her.

But when his secret guards presented the testimony they had extracted, his expression froze, and for the first time he lost his composure.

The orphaned adopted sister he had searched for all those years had long ago been sold as a courtesan-in-training and had become Yangzhou’s most celebrated beauty.

Her name was Xue Ying.

“...So, should I call you uncle?”

She stared at him for a long time before finally asking in a timid voice.

Chu Yunqi’s face was dark as a storm cloud. Without a word, he took her back to the capital, giving her the status of a daughter of the Duke’s household.

From then on, they called each other uncle and niece and never spoke of the past.

Until half a year later, when Chu Yunqi saw his nephew beneath the plum tree in the courtyard, taking Xue Ying’s hand and solemnly placing a jade pendant in her palm.

She lowered her head slightly, the tips of her ears turning red, but she did not refuse.

That night, Chu Yunqi swept into her room with a chill in his wake and pinned her against the carved doors, dark currents surging in his eyes.

“You accepted him. So what am I?”

Content warnings:

1. Both leads are each other’s only sexual partners. There is an eighteen-year age gap.

2. The heroine is power-hungry and loves money. She is not a perfect character.

3. The leads are not related by blood or family. The heroine’s mother was treated as an adopted sister by the hero out of gratitude.

Theme: Persevere through every setback and strive to change your fate