The Gilded Vanity Case

In the third month of spring, Zhiyao accompanied her mother to the capital to visit relatives.

Born into a merchant family in Linzhou, she was poised and graceful, with elegant bearing and impeccable manners.

The old madam of the marquis's household was delighted. She personally set about finding a match for her grandniece, hoping to keep her close and look after her.

That was exactly what Zhiyao wanted. If she could find a decent husband soon, she might be able to help her elder brother advance in life.

But she was terribly afraid of her fifth uncle, Cui Yanxun, with his icy elegance and noble air. He was like a demon in her heart, making her act like a completely different person in private from the composed young woman she was in public, a shameful secret she could never bring herself to speak of.

*

Cui Yanxun was so clever he seemed almost demonic. The court and the public alike watched him warily. Honored by imperial decree as the Marquis of Weiyi, he was a man no one in the household dared defy.

Two years ago, after he was accidentally trapped by a scheme and poisoned with a spring poison, he grabbed a plain, delicate maid at random to draw out the parasite. She was only a lowly maid from the laundry courtyard. Taking her as a bedchamber woman would have been more than she deserved.

Yet afterward, he searched the entire household and never saw the maid again.

Later, Cui Yanxun finally ran into a delicate beauty whose face resembled hers, though her figure had become far more voluptuous and alluring. Trembling with fear, she called out, “May the fifth uncle be blessed.”

*

In the misty guest room, the woman who had been so deft and composed by day had disheveled clothes and burning-red cheeks.

The man’s long fingers clamped around her chin as he leaned close. “You’re getting engaged already? Should I let your future husband see you like this?”

Zhiyao was too ashamed and frightened to speak. All she could do was beg her fifth uncle to let her go.

Cui Yanxun said, “I should have waited until the blood parasite between us was cured so we could both be free. But suddenly, I regret it. Little liar, what do you think I should do?”

-

One-on-one romance, both leads are sexually inexperienced, a tale of clever pursuit and possessive love, physical intimacy before emotional intimacy.

The male lead has a hidden identity and is not related to the female lead by blood.

Theme: Pursuing happiness freely