Synopsis
Synopsis:
Jiang Yiluo's father played favorites.
From childhood onward, she had to give up anything her elder sister liked, without question, including her marriage to the second young lord of the Xie family.
She could give up anything, but not her marriage.
This marriage was her bargaining chip for avenging her mother.
She would make Second Young Lord Xie devoted to her, determined to marry no one but her.
After making inquiries, Jiang Yiluo learned where Second Young Lord Xie was and deliberately brought a portrait along to find him.
That day, a gentle breeze stirred, orioles sang among the willows, and blue waves rippled across the lake.
A handsome young man, smiling, with his sash fluttering, was escorted off a lavishly decorated, gold-inlaid pleasure boat by several richly dressed officials.
"A peerless beauty of a man, with the looks of an immortal."
Jiang Yiluo admired him from afar, listening to the young ladies nearby praise him.
She took out the portrait and compared it carefully several times, then couldn't help sighing at the painter's poor skill.
Such a handsome young lord was barely worthy of her. He was surely her betrothed!
-
The Crown Prince, Yin Chengyan, was cultured and refined, peerlessly noble, and always greeted people and handled affairs with a warm smile.
He was a modest gentleman whom neither the emperor nor the court officials could find fault with.
While traveling south on the emperor's orders, the Crown Prince saved a young lady.
She was delicate as a willow, stunningly beautiful, and fell in love with him at first sight.
She clung to him, insisting on offering herself in marriage to repay his kindness.
The Crown Prince pitied the young lady's tragic background, brought her back to the Eastern Palace, and petitioned to name her a Liangdi.
He was diligent in government affairs and considered himself not especially given to women.
From the time she joined him to the day she used him to avenge her great hatred,
Across three whole months, they had shared a bed for only twenty nights in total.
*
One dark, windy night,
the Crown Prince drank the wrong medicinal wine and passed out. The beauty who had once been sweet and gentle tied him beneath a crabapple tree tinged with autumn colors.
Jiang Yiluo, carrying a bundle full of gold, silver, and valuables on her back and holding a gleaming whip, stared at his stunning face for a long while.
Following the principle of not hitting someone in the face, she mercilessly lashed him twenty times across the body.
Afterward, in a grand gesture, she tucked two taels of silver into his sash.
Feeling refreshed after beating him, Jiang Yiluo dropped the whip and clapped her hands, ready to slip away.
But just as she turned around, a pair of strong arms wrapped tightly around her waist.
The man's blood stained her pear-blossom-white dress. His ghostly voice echoed by her ear:
"Luoluo, I gave you permission to whip me to vent your anger, but I never gave you permission to leave me..."
#Was he really only worth two taels of silver?
#Since she used him, she would have to keep using him.
Bright and exquisite, loving herself × gentle as jade, black-hearted beneath the surface (and then even blacker, or perhaps he was always black-hearted...)
PS:
◆ 1v1, pure in body and heart, bittersweet and funny, happy ending.
◆ A fictional setting inspired by the Tang dynasty. The female lead is seventeen at the beginning, the male lead is twenty, with a three-year age gap.
◆ The main story differs from the synopsis. The leads aren't serious about each other at first. They scheme against each other and work together in an adversarial relationship. (A special note: There is a reason she is appointed Liangdi; she's actually the Crown Princess, and the male lead is very much in love with her. The female lead and her older sister have a pretty good relationship, with no rivalry over men.)
* The family relationship has some angst, but overall this is a goofy, sweet romance.
* The characters may not be perfect. For example, both leads are quite narcissistic (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡
Note dated 20260302.
Theme: Don't overthink things. Keep your spirits up every day!
