My Mother Is the White Moonlight of a Tragic Romance

Zhu Changxi is widely considered the unluckiest young princess in all of Dasheng, bar none.

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Her biological father, the Regent, is a man of wealth and status, but he hates this daughter.

His wife died in childbirth. The Regent adored her, and the more he loved his first wife, the more he hated the princess.

For fifteen years, Zhu Changxi has been made to atone for her sins, living a life worse than the dogs in the manor.

What she hates most is that everyone says she doesn't look like her mother, while Second Young Miss does.

Second Young Miss's mother, Concubine Xia, resembles the princess's late mother.

The Regent acts cold and indifferent toward Concubine Xia, saying, "You are only a substitute for Guiwan. Remember your place."

Yet he dotes on Concubine Xia and her daughter, cherishing them like treasures and making up for all the promises and regrets he has toward his late wife through his "substitute" daughter.

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On the night of Zhu Changxi's sixteenth birthday, snow falls in torrents.

Her ears and the tip of her nose are red from the cold. Shivering, she crouches in the snow, lights half a candle, and makes a fervent wish: I want to be with Mother.

She doesn't know what having a mother is like, but she knows she envies Second Young Miss.

She plans to die and find her mother, atoning for her sins once and for all.

When she opens her eyes again, her wish has come true in a different way.

She's still alive, and her mother has returned!

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Xie Chengji is widely considered the most rebellious young nobleman in all of Dasheng, bar none.

Six bloody years in the northwest have turned him into an unruly, stubborn young general.

Since returning to the capital, he's caused no end of chaos in the Xie household.

One day, after being jointly impeached yet again as an "unfilial son who made his father sick," he sits alone at a street-stall feast, where he spots a poor girl staring longingly at the meat in his bowl.

Uncomfortable under her gaze, he coldly offers her a chicken leg, but she turns and leaves.

Tsk. What a tough little "beggar."

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Content warnings: The male lead has real character flaws and is rebellious, initially rejecting everyone equally | The family relationships are extremely angst-heavy | Utterly over-the-top melodrama | The two leads are both suffering, but are each other's only ones and get a happy ending

Theme: There's a long road ahead.