Your Heart Is Like Medicine

Cui Manzhen, the fifth daughter of the Cui family, had always put on an air of elegance, grace, and gentle reserve in the capital. She was selected to enter the Eastern Palace as the Crown Princess. She had met the Crown Prince only once and couldn't understand how that had led to their marriage. But the Cui family had worked hard to secure the match, and they naturally expected Manzhen to become a pawn they could control.

A cup of poisoned tea exposed the lies the Cui family had struggled to conceal. As Manzhen watched the Crown Prince, Li Lang, gradually fall in love with her, dread crept over her. What if he discovered the Cui family's ulterior motives and took it out on her?

So whenever Li Lang came close, Manzhen dodged him.

"Zhenzhen, would you like to join me for the autumn hunt today?" Manzhen hummed an absent-minded answer.

"Zhenzhen, official business will keep me away tonight." Manzhen continued to answer with flattering insincerity.

The only way Manzhen could think of to escape the Cui family in the short term was to cling to the Crown Prince. So flattery became one of her required lessons. But while flattering him, she ended up developing real feelings.

After the poison took effect, though, Li Lang could no longer hide the pain in his eyes. Manzhen didn't need to flatter or humor him. She could do nothing at all, and Li Lang would still have fallen hopelessly in love with her.

Li Lang tested the medicine on himself. He swallowed the bitter brew, then reached out to stroke Manzhen's cheek. "I hope my Zhenzhen never has to suffer in this life."

Tears fell from Manzhen's eyes. Perhaps admitting she had fallen for Li Lang wasn't so difficult after all.

*

The gentle and refined Crown Prince, Li Lang, accepted the arrangement and married a daughter of the Cui family. Two complete strangers, bound together by a marriage contract, found their fates intertwined.

On their wedding night, Li Lang lifted Manzhen's veil and saw her serene, gentle face. It would have been a lie to say he wasn't moved. This beautiful woman had eyes only for him, and he began to learn what it meant to truly love someone.

He started learning what Manzhen liked, and found little ways to make his presence known.

When the Cui family's secrets were exposed, he was already hopelessly in love with Manzhen. He willingly tested the medicine and let her use him to free herself from the Cui family.

By then, however, they understood each other's hearts and were deeply in love, with no doubts between them.

That was why he couldn't accept Manzhen dying in the palace.

On the battlefield where the rebellion was being put down, Li Lang saw Manzhen gazing coldly at the Cui family, who had no idea of the danger they were in. Only then, after all his suffering, did he truly feel alive again. Nothing else mattered, as long as Zhenzhen was safe and well.

"My wife, Zhenzhen, was kindhearted and young when she was harmed by villains. Thankfully, she is now in good health. I only hope she lives to a hundred and stays by my side for the rest of my life."

[Gentle, hopelessly lovestruck Crown Prince x Pretends to be obedient, but is a calculating noblewoman]

Marriage first, love later, with a touch of political intrigue

Coming soon: Starsea Flame

An esports novel set in the world of Valorant

A gap-moe younger man x A warm, perceptive older woman

A famous young pro player x A laid-back social media blogger

Theme: I hope you can choose the path beneath your feet and the kind of person you become.