His Majesty Regrets It

[Innocent, Kindhearted Young Lady x Obsessive Hypocrite] A second chance after heartbreak + the male lead's redemption arc + lovesick male lead + female lead falls for someone else + sweet and angsty

Tang Xunzhen, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Minister of Revenue, comes from a distinguished family and is both beautiful and talented. She and Crown Prince Shen Yan grew up together and fell in love.

Tang Xunzhen waits for Shen Yan to ask the emperor for an edict, then welcome her to the Eastern Palace in a grand procession and make her his crown princess.

But one autumn hunt, one look, and one sentence smash all her fantasies to pieces.

Shen Yan is the crown prince, the heir to the empire. His crown princess must be a noble young lady, not a spoiled young miss like her, pampered by her family and ignorant of her place in the world.

Tang Xunzhen can make the greatest concession imaginable by marrying Shen Yan simply because she loves him, and putting up with the beauties in his future harem.

But if she can't be his crown princess, then she won't marry him. She absolutely won't!

Tang Xunzhen steels herself and spends half an hour soaking in icy water, catching a cold so she has an excuse not to see Shen Yan again.

Then, on the day she returns to the capital after the autumn hunt, she begs her parents to let her leave the city, despite being sick, and escape the place that has trampled her dignity.

From then on, she wants nothing more to do with Shen Yan for the rest of her life.

After leaving the capital, she lives very well with her maternal grandparents, and another person gradually heals her wounded heart.

She, Tang Xunzhen, falls in love with someone else.

She personally chooses her future husband and trains him into the sort of man she likes.

She thinks her days will stay peaceful and happy until she dies of old age.

But life is unpredictable. The emperor dies, and the crown prince ascends the throne. After decisively dealing with several unruly princes, the court begins discussing a selection of consorts.

Tang Xunzhen thinks none of what happens in the capital has anything to do with her. After all, following the crown prince around in the past had been nothing but her one-sided devotion. It's all in the past now.

But the crown prince, no, the new emperor, seems unwilling to let her go.

He uses force, disregards her wishes, and abducts her to the palace, demanding that she become his empress.

But her heart has changed.

She looks at his obsessive face. The feelings she once had for him have long since been shattered by everything that happened that day.

So she smashes the phoenix crown he offers her, tears up the empress's robes he sends her, and begs him through tear-blurred eyes to let her leave the palace and give her back her freedom.

But Shen Yan is a bastard. He only watches silently as she cries and loses control, then holds her and comforts her when it's over. "A Zhen, don't leave me."

In the end, Tang Xunzhen slaps him across the face, splitting his lip, and says, "Shen Yan, I hate you."

* Reading Guide

HE. The female lead falls for someone else + melodrama + taking by force + a second chance after heartbreak.

Neither lead is perfect. The female lead has a great deal of self-respect. The male lead is a virgin (important note), and so is the female lead (though there may be a few slightly intimate moments with a supporting male character).

The female lead misunderstands the male lead, who is more than he appears to be. Her choices are mainly motivated by concern for her family. She doesn't love him as much as he loves her. Readers who are devoted to the male lead, take note: he's lovesick, extremely, ridiculously lovesick.

The female lead's arc is more focused on growth. She grows in the first part, which is somewhat angsty for her, and the second half is all about putting the male lead through the wringer.

[Please add the next book to your collection]

The Heartthrob Cultivates the Path of Ruthlessness

Yu Zhongqu is the beloved second senior sister of Yueyou Mountain, raised from childhood by the mountain master herself. Only when Yu Zhongqu reaches the Nascent Soul stage does the mountain master allow her to go down the mountain alone and seek her own path.

Yu Zhongqu is a natural prodigy. Cultivation comes as easily to her as drinking water.

While other disciples her age still struggle to understand how to breathe in spiritual energy, she takes a few easy breaths and reaches the Qi Refining stage without breaking a sweat.

So when she makes her powerful debut in the world at the Nascent Soul stage, the major sects and clans are stunned to learn she is only twenty-two. They all start asking which sect has secretly been hiding such a genius.

When they find out she's a disciple of that woman from Yueyou Mountain, it no longer seems surprising. That woman is a heaven-sent genius herself, and her resources are probably enough to rival half a sect. It makes sense that she could raise such a young Nascent Soul cultivator.

*

Not long after Yu Zhongqu leaves the mountain, she wins the favor of several major sects by saving core disciples from Medicine King Valley and the Heavenly Music Sect.

Next, she gains great merit and popular support by helping disciples from the Brahma Sect treat an epidemic in Mengxi Town.

Soon afterward, the mystery surrounding her birth is revealed, earning her the allegiance of many clans.

But Yu Zhongqu can only wonder: she's not becoming emperor, and she has no plans to cultivate the demonic path, so why are all these people pledging themselves to her?

But what's bothering her most isn't these inexplicable followers. It's all the people who have no idea why they've fallen for her and want to pursue her!

Can someone explain why, besides the senior brother from Sword Ultimate Sect and some male disciples, so many junior sisters from other sects like her and want to cultivate dual cultivation with her?!

Help!

Yu Zhongqu really doesn't understand what they like about her. She can't figure it out, so she runs back to Yueyou Mountain to seek comfort from her master.

What she never expected was that her junior sister, the one she had watched grow up, was secretly in love with her too!!!

Yu Zhongqu is completely dumbfounded. This time, she really is.

"This world is terrifying. The path of ruthlessness should suit me better!" That's Yu Zhongqu's only thought.

Reading Guide:

1. The cultivation stages in this story are: Illumination, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Deification, and Carefree Wandering. Carefree Wandering is the highest cultivation stage in the world. To go any higher, one must become a god.

2. This is a lighthearted xianxia story focused on the plot, with lots of original worldbuilding. It has no romantic pairings and centers on the female lead, who is already highly cultivated when she first leaves the mountain.

3. The female lead has a slight harem-protagonist vibe. She appears to be a gentle, understanding big sister, but is actually a little sharp-tongued and conceited.

Theme: Women should be self-reliant.