The Frail Villainess Gets Tangled Up with Her Archenemy

[Wild-grass-style, aloof villainess who plays the pig to eat the tiger x lofty, untouchable flower who bows his head for love]

Everyone in the capital knew that Yun Lichen ruled with an iron hand and kept his distance from women. He and Mu Yanxi, the fake heiress who was really a sickly girl, were completely at odds, like fire and water.

He thought she was frail, poisonous, and ill-intentioned, the person he hated most in the world. She mocked him as petty and two-faced, all appearance and no substance.

At a palace banquet, she approached with a cup of wine to offer him a toast. He didn't even raise his eyelids. In front of everyone, he knocked the cup from her hand in disgust.

"Don't offer favors without reason. You're either up to no good or planning a crime. Don't do it again, or I'll grind your bones to dust." His tone was cool, his eyes contemptuous.

She coughed twice and began to sob pitifully. He frowned and turned away, avoiding her as if she were plague-ridden.

The whole hall erupted in whispers. The sickly girl was done for. She'd offended His Highness beyond forgiveness. She might not even know how she died.

But that very night, the drug's effects left her burning all over. As her consciousness blurred, someone carried her through a secret passage into a dark chamber.

A cool palm rested against the back of her neck. A familiar voice rang beside her ear, its anger barely contained: "Mu Yanxi, you've got a lot of nerve. You'll drink wine from anyone? Do you even know what's in it?"

She opened her eyes and met his gaze, still bright in the darkness, then smiled. "Don't you hate me most? Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

"Don't talk nonsense." He lowered his head and bit her collarbone, neither gently nor too hard.

"Hate you? I hate myself. I fell for you like a moth to a flame. I wish I could tie myself to your side and never leave you."

Then one day, the young prince, a man who had never been in love before, realized that her coldness and indifference had nearly left him unable to have children. At last, he panicked.

With red eyes, he pinned her in a corner and demanded plaintively, "Mu Yanxi, do you even have a heart?"

"I never did."

Would an untouchable flower let anyone manipulate him?

He began using schemes and playing dirty, cutting off her other suitors.

Mu Yanxi might be clueless about romance, but she played along and used him to achieve her own ends.

The untouchable flower bowed to her, and the heartless one broke her vows for him.

She taught him to hate, and he taught her to love.

She thought she was the one manipulating the untouchable flower. Only later did she realize that the flower had bowed its head long ago, waiting for her to reach out and pluck it.

[Extra Scene 1]

They said that whoever fell in love first would lose, so he didn't dare believe it or admit it. In the end, all he had left was stubborn denial.

That lasted until he heard Mu Yanxi was looking for a husband.

Yun Lichen was frantic. He sneaked into her chambers in the middle of the night. "Do you know? I love you. We were born to be together. No one in this world is more suited to you than I am. If we can't be lovers, we'll be enemies. In this life and every life after, we're destined to be entangled forever."

Mu Yanxi: "Is that so? I don't believe true love exists in this world."

Yun Lichen: "Then I'll show you my sincerity."

Mu Yanxi: "And what would you do if I loved someone else?"

Yun Lichen: "Then I'll eliminate them all! For every person you love, I'll eliminate one, until I'm the only one in your heart."

Mu Yanxi: "You're insane."

Yun Lichen: "The moment I met you and fell for you, I knew I was already insane. I'll do everything I can until you love me."

Mu Yanxi: "But I still have a blood feud to avenge."

Yun Lichen: "Then let me be your blade and avenge you. Once you've had your revenge, will you turn around and look at me?"

She froze. After a long silence, she turned her face away and said, "You don't have to. This is my revenge, and I have my own path to walk."

[Extra Scene 2]

On the day the corrupt officials were brought down, Yun Lichen knelt in the imperial palace and offered all his achievements in exchange for an edict: he would marry no one but her.

The entire court was stunned.

The emperor asked if he had thought it through.

He replied, "I have. I will protect the empire for Your Majesty. I want to entrust the rest of my life to just one person."

The hall fell deathly silent.

Someone asked him, "If you had to choose between the empire and her, which would you choose?"

"I won't choose. I want both the empire and the beauty."

At last, she raised her head and met his gaze. After a long moment, she said coldly, "You're truly insane."

[Extra Scene 3]

When those wicked people finally remembered Mu Yanxi, she was already standing before them.

"Long time no see, my enemies."

"I've come to send you on your way. Farewell, and may you never be reborn."

[Reading Guide]

1. One-on-one romance, both leads chaste, both powerful, satisfying HE

2. Set in a fictional world; don't overthink the details

3. Revenge and personal growth, with both plot and romance

4. The leads use aliases for roughly the first 35 chapters, while the plot focuses on the jianghu. They later reclaim their identities and enter the main storyline. The heroine begins in a miserable state, having been cast out, but soon reclaims her identity and sets the main plot in motion. On the surface, she's a useless, sickly, ugly girl; in reality, she plays the pig to eat the tiger and hides a dark side.

5. Romance: the male lead is a late bloomer who later wins himself over. The heroine cultivates the path of emotional detachment, then gradually awakens and develops feelings.

6. 560,000 words are already drafted, and revisions are underway. Read with confidence; the story won't be abandoned.

Theme: All living beings suffer. Only you can save yourself.