Startled Sparrow

[A delicate, innocent charmer who attracts men and women alike]

Shang Jingque is the most beautiful dancer in the Imperial Music Academy.

When she was sixteen, Young Master Zheng took a liking to her at the year-end banquet and kept her that night.

Young Master Zheng promised to buy her freedom from her low-status registration and take her as a favored concubine.

But early the next morning, his fiancée, Miss Lu, barged in and slapped her.

The Zheng and Lu families were equally matched in status. Miss Lu could throw a tantrum, but she couldn't control Young Master Zheng. The two fought bitterly over Jingque, alarming the elders of both families.

Shang Jingque cowered in a corner, trembling like a lamb waiting for the slaughter, as Young Master Zheng's grandfather and Miss Lu's brother discussed her fate. The young master, who had promised to buy her freedom, had no say at all in front of them.

Miss Lu's brother glanced at Shang Jingque. He was exceptionally handsome, and that one glance was enough to make her heart skip a beat.

Unexpectedly, it was decided that Shang Jingque would be taken back to the Lu household, where Miss Lu would train her. In the future, she would accompany Miss Lu as part of her dowry and become Young Master Zheng's concubine.

To Shang Jingque, this was the best possible outcome.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, she did everything she could to please Miss Lu. No matter how Miss Lu tormented her, she meekly agreed and did her best to comply.

When Miss Lu wanted to see her dance barefoot in the snow, she danced.

When Miss Lu wanted to hear songs from Nanzhou, she diligently learned them from her teacher.

When Miss Lu was beaten and wronged, she let her cry with her head in her lap.

Later, Miss Lu got drunk, pulled her onto the bed, and wouldn't let her leave. She asked Jingque how she had served Young Master Zheng that night. Miss Lu's hand slipped into Jingque's waistband as she said, "If Young Master Zheng gets to have you, then so do I."

Miss Lu's wedding was delayed again and again: one day there were ghosts, the next she was ill.

Her brother, Lu Yan, who was busy with a thousand affairs, began to think something was amiss.

One day, Lu Yan unexpectedly had some free time and decided to speak to his sister. The servants had all been sent away from her bedroom, and as he walked to the window, he heard a soft, breathy whimper.

He recognized Shang Jingque's voice immediately.

Then who was she with in there?

Next, he heard his unwed, well-bred sister say, "You spoke to Young Master Zheng three times, so you have to let me have you three times. You can't back out even once."

Lu Yan forcibly held back his anger and left with a grim expression.

That night, Lu Yan, who had always indulged his sister, beat her so badly she couldn't get out of bed.

The next day, the Zheng and Lu families finalized the marriage and hastily picked an auspicious date within the month.

And Shang Jingque was dragged into Lu Yan's room.

The furnishings in Lu Yan's room were as cold and refined as the man himself. Only the fox-fur rug beneath her naked knees was soft.

Lu Yan sat in a chair before her, the tip of his riding crop lifting her chin as he examined her coldly.

"I'm curious how capable you are," Lu Yan said. "How did you bewitch those two fools into sparing your life?"

Blurb dated 2026.7.10

[Reading Guide]

1. Everyone except Jingque is sexually inexperienced.

2. The romance is one-on-one in each phase; the final winner is the one with a name.

Theme: Life holds endless possibilities