A vindictive, vicious little lady x a young general who pretends to be a wastrel but is secretly gentle and resilient
Chi Yuan, the youngest legitimate daughter of the Secretariat Director's household, is clever and refined, gentle and composed, with an elegant bearing and a brilliant mind. She is the most talked-about noblewoman in all of Great Liang.
The people of Shengjing praise her as refined and proper, with a heart of compassion, and a rare match for any man.
When she comes of marriageable age, she turns down all the distinguished nobles and earls in the capital, declaring that she will atone for her father's sins by marrying a disgraced, debauched prince. The people adore her and pity her, praising her as a living Guanyin.
But no one could have guessed...
On their wedding night, the candlelight flickers.
"Your Highness keeps a knife under your pillow. If you want to kill me, the daughter of your enemy, then be quick about it." The young woman's eyes are bloodshot, her expression sinister, a far cry from her usual graceful gentleness. She snarls, "Otherwise, tomorrow I'll make sure you end up a wretched ghost in the underworld."
Xie Heng, whose face his bride has just splashed with their nuptial wine, lets out a helpless sigh, recalling the side of her no one else knows:
She toys with noble families, fights vicious dogs, and plots to kill her father...
How is this the Guanyin who came to atone, as everyone claims? She's clearly a vengeful ghost risen from hell to collect her debt.
*
Xie Heng, the sixth prince of the Liang Dynasty, is handsome and valiant in battle. The emperor's most beloved youngest son, he is a young tiger general who reclaimed all thirteen northwestern prefectures in one stroke, and the brightest star in all of Great Liang.
In the first eighteen years of his life, he had never suffered a defeat, until he lost to a frail noblewoman at a spring banquet.
Later, the once-spirited, unruly young man becomes a disgraced wretch whom everyone avoids. But the girl whose every thought had been consumed by profit and scheming comes to him of her own accord:
"I'll play the ghost, and you can be weak and crippled. We're made for each other."
Xie Heng looks at her seemingly innocent face and thinks:
A wicked pair, but who's to say we aren't a match made in heaven? I'm perfectly happy to lose to her.
On their wedding night, he catches the hand gripping her dagger, raises an eyebrow, and laughs as he says lightly:
"They say husband and wife should share a bed in life and a grave in death. But I haven't yet shared a bed with you..."
"Why not let Your Highness try it first, and see how it feels?"
The next day.
Xie Heng: "Are you still going to kill me, my lady?"
Chi Yuan: "...I'll let you live a little longer. ( ⩌⤚⩌)"
One-on-one, both leads' first relationship / adversarial couple / a touch of love at first sight / intense physical attraction
Content notes: 1. The heroine is not strong. The main focus is a sickly sweet romance and a few efforts to reclaim the throne.
2. After they clear their names, the two will abdicate.
3. The political intrigue has no real logic. This is purely written to indulge personal tastes.
Theme: Finding redemption through love, even amid resentment.
