The Beauty Trap

Originally titled The Azure Maiden

Zhao You has never seen such a clumsy assassin. She is beautiful, but empty-headed, with her murderous intent written all over her face. The dagger hidden in her sleeve falls to the ground before she can find a chance to strike, exposing her identity as an assassin.

She turns an assassination into a vaudeville act.

Amused, he is suddenly moved to pity. Not only does he spare her, he personally teaches her how to manipulate hearts and bewitch souls, how to kill without leaving a trace.

He even commissions a master craftsman to make her a pair of short swords.

But when she draws those swords, she plunges them into his heart.

Only then does Zhao You learn that she is Qing Nu, the top-ranked assassin of the Qing Sect, a master of schemes whose assassinations have never failed.

*

Shen Qing has two regrets in life:

First, after successfully assassinating Zhao You, she revealed her name and origins right in front of him.

Second, she didn't finish him off, and he was lucky enough to survive.

As a result, on countless nights afterward, Zhao You would appear in her room without warning, idly playing with a short sword as he smiled carelessly. “Qing'er, you dared to assassinate the emperor. Why don't you dare be my empress?”

*A scheming beauty x a short-tempered emperor

*Includes melodramatic tropes such as loving and fighting each other, taking by force, amnesia, and the emperor chasing his wife after driving her away

*The novel will begin once I have 50,000 words saved up (progress: 1/5)

*I'll add more if I think of anything

Theme: Striving for freedom