A love story of passion and hatred | Contains forced pursuit
Su Wanci had once been the most pampered pearl of the Grand Tutor's household.
The person she hated most was Shen Xiu, the Imperial Guard Commander who relied on the Empress Dowager and did her dirty work.
At the Lantern Festival, Shen Xiu once offered her a lantern in full view of everyone.
Su Wanci turned away in disgust. "I'm afraid your lantern would dirty my hands, Lord Shen."
Shen Xiu crushed the wick without a care, his smile sinister. "I, Shen, will remember Miss Su's lofty principles and noble bearing."
Who could have known that one day, disaster would strike and the entire Su family would be imprisoned?
The man who led the soldiers to confiscate their home was Shen Xiu.
Amid the falling snow, Su Wanci knelt at the feet of the man she despised most and begged for mercy.
Shen Xiu looked down at her and lifted her chin with the scabbard of his sword. "Miss Su, which one of us is dirty now?"
Su Wanci was sold to the Entertainment Bureau, and the man who bought her first night was, once again, Shen Xiu.
He knew she hated him to the bone, yet night after night he still made her submit to him.
Everyone said that in Shen Xiu's hands, Su Wanci would surely be tormented until she wished she were dead.
But behind those firmly shut doors, delicacies and fine silks were sent in like flowing water.
No one knew that Shen Xiu suffered from nightmares and could not sleep at night.
For twelve years, the only cure that let him sleep peacefully was the warm fragrance of her body.
Until the day a coup erupted in the palace.
Shen Xiu overthrew the Empress Dowager's faction, cleared the Su family's name, and helped the new emperor seize power.
The traitor condemned by thousands was in fact a lone official who had shouldered the blame by himself.
When the dust settled, Shen Xiu stood before Su Wanci once more, holding a lantern.
His voice carried a hint of hesitation he had never shown before:
"The Su family has been cleared, and I have returned your pride to you."
"Now, does Miss Su still think this lantern is dirty?"
[Reading Guide]
Both leads have only ever been with each other. Happy ending. Updates follow the rankings at first. This is a short story, complete at 175,000 characters.
Coming soon:
"After Teasing the Aloof Court Deputy, He Fell for Real"
Cat-and-mouse game | Lovers who are each other's nemesis
Yu Yuan is an assassin who works for money, a weed from the streets with nothing but lies on her lips.
He Lin is the sword of justice at the Court of Judicial Review, an untouchable flower atop a high peak.
The first time they met, Yu Yuan tricked him, and threw his heart into disarray.
A bizarre case involving poisonous insects and curses suddenly breaks out in Yongzhou. He Lin is ordered to investigate, while Yu Yuan accepts ten thousand gold taels to destroy the evidence and, while she's at it, take his life.
To make things easier, Yu Yuan pretends to be a trusted aide of the emperor and tricks him into leading the way. She tosses out careless sweet talk with ease, making the innocent young court deputy blush.
An unexpected kiss leaves He Lin resisting with his words while his heart flutters. He assumes he's been infected by a curse.
But before the warmth on his lips has faded, Yu Yuan drops her disguise, lifts his chin with her knife, and smiles coldly:
"Without the antidote, Lord He has three days to live. The evidence or your life, which will you choose?"
The love curse gnaws at the bones and should make its victim beg for mercy, but He Lin reaches out, grips the blade, and presses it inch by inch against his own heart.
"I won't give up the case files, not even a step."
"But my life... you can take it whenever you want."
After that, cases keep cropping up. She lays her traps one step at a time, and he falls into them willingly.
She puts on an act, and he offers his whole heart to play along.
He Lin can never guess whether the next thing she reaches for is a knife to take his life or a hand to save it.
He knows there's not a single truthful word in her mouth, yet again and again he falls for her, unable to pull himself free.
That day, in a narrow alley in the imperial capital, Yu Yuan is in mortal danger.
He Lin risks his life to protect her and pulls off her mask, only to find a wooden token carved with a smiling face beneath it. She has fooled him again.
The aloof Lord He clenches the token, laughing in exasperation.
"Liar."
"If you were going to deceive me... why not see it through to the end?"
Theme: Keep your heart turned toward the light.
[Purple sugar] kswl [orange candy] has been eaten and the flowers are scattered 🐶🌹
It's really well written!