After the Cold Marquis's Heir Took Me by Force

[Strong-Arming Romance + Fallen Untouchable + Clear-Eyed, Alluring Heroine]

Alluring, Delicate Beauty × Seemingly Aloof but Actually Twisted and Obsessive Man

Shu Ning is a maid in the Duke's household, bound by a living contract. In another year, she'll be free to marry outside the household.

That year, she meets Qi Xu, a poor scholar. At first sight, she decides he's her stepping-stone to a better life, and pulls out every trick she knows to win him over.

"Do you like plum blossoms too, miss?"

"Yes. Plum blossoms are so noble and pure. I adore them..."

Shu Ning's eyes dart aside. Little does anyone know that what she truly loves are vivid red roses.

She turns her head and catches sight of the radiant young heir, leaning beneath the corridor and watching her sidelong.

She had nearly married Qi Xu.

The day before he was due to come ask for her hand, Jiang Ji'an seized her and took her to his residence. He destroyed her contract, forced her to sign a lifelong one, and robbed her of her freedom.

To win back her freedom, Shu Ning carefully sets about pleasing Jiang Ji'an.

When he is attacked, she tends to his poisoned wounds at his side, and he keeps her close as his personal attendant.

When he goes to Yangzhou to investigate a salt-tax case, Shu Ning disguises herself as his beautiful concubine.

They act out a passionate romance, all pretense and sweet nothings.

She is gentle and considerate, and beautiful as a flower.

She is perceptive and exquisite, with the beauty of a celestial maiden.

Everyone laughs at Shu Ning, saying that after failing to win Qi Xu, she is trying to seduce Jiang Ji'an instead.

But Jiang Ji'an is such a proper gentleman. How could he possibly fall for her tricks?

What they don't know is that Jiang Ji'an is slowly letting his own defenses crumble.

Shu Ning thinks that if she can just endure a little longer, she'll get her contract and escape. She doesn't expect Jiang Ji'an to see right through her with a mocking smile:

"When your eyes followed him, were you looking at him, or at me?"

"Jiang Ji'an, you're despicable."

In the end, Shu Ning discovers the depths of his scheming. He deliberately drove her and Qi Xu apart and destroyed her chance at freedom.

She resolves to ruin the reputation of this upright gentleman. She deliberately seduces him, destroys his good name, and turns him into a laughingstock in the capital.

He only smiles without a word, keeping her imprisoned by his side, unable to take even a single step beyond his domain.

Reputation, virtue, integrity, refinement.

They are no more than clouds in the sky and mud in the earth.

They were never what he wanted.

All he wanted was her.

Blurb Two:

"My lord... Won't you come see A Ning? When you don't visit, my heart feels so uneasy..."

"My lord... My ankle hurts so much. Could you take off my shackles?"

"Yantang... I hate you."

I hate you for not letting me go.

I hate you for taking away my freedom.

"A Ning, you were the one who barged into my world. You can't just walk away."

He stubbornly locks her away in his little corner of the world, keeping her captive and confined. She hates him, but he only holds her by the shoulder and murmurs, "A Ning, amid this sea of hatred and boundless love, tell me, which is greater, love or hate?"

"A Ning, when the sky and water meet as one, tell me, can you tell love from hate?"

Jiang Ji'an's voice draws closer. She has nowhere left to retreat.

"Please... let me go."

"Only if I die, or you die."

Content warnings:

1. The male lead is not a good person. He seems aloof, but is deeply calculating and manipulative. Come prepared for the contrast!

2. The male lead is awful early on. There is imprisonment and confinement in a dark room.

3. The heroine is not strong from the outset. She's a clear-eyed, alluring beauty who grows over time, and she's afraid of dying.

4. The heroine suffers early on, though her story follows a path of personal growth. Later, the male lead suffers even more.

[Clear-Eyed, Scheming Maid × Aloof, Possessive Heir]

[They Scheme First, Then Fall in Love: In This Sea of Love and Hate, Which Is Greater?]

Theme: While you fight for the world, I fight for the right to live without kneeling.