The Other Woman

Blurb One: Scheduled to go premium on 2021.01.04, barring unforeseen circumstances. New novel: Beauty of the Bones. Please add it to your reading list. Lu Ze, heir to the Duke of Qi’s estate, has the emperor’s favor. He oversees Zhejiang and Fujian, is mercurial, and is an expert schemer. Returning home to visit his family, he happens upon a woman walking through Yiyuan beneath an umbrella, her skin like ice and bones like jade, each step as graceful as a lotus blossom. Lu Ze hints at his intentions several times, but the little maid pretends not to understand. Lu Ze sneers. She could have been his favored concubine, but instead insists on being his unacknowledged mistress. In the end, Lu Ze eats his words and eagerly offers her the position of principal wife, only to be rejected at every turn. Blurb Two: Qin Shu transmigrates into the body of a little maid in a family of hereditary nobility. For a servant family passed down through generations, the best outcome is to marry another servant and have children who will remain servants. She actively searches for a suitable target. A small-time landlord, looking a little simple-minded, says, “Ping’er, you’re a first-class maid in a wealthy household. I’ll do whatever you say.” Qin Shu has saved up a good deal of money and is just waiting to be released from the household at eighteen when the young master returns home to visit his family. Lu Ze raises Qin Shu’s chin with his fan. “I’ll grant you unimaginable riches. What do you say?” Qin Shu pushes the fan away with a look of disdain. “Young Master, this servant will not be a concubine.” Core tropes: abduction into marriage, then the hero must win back his wife. Content warnings: Not for readers who require chaste characters or a virgin hero. Those who dislike forced marriages should proceed with caution. New novel: Beauty of the Bones. Please add it to your reading list. Her mother is the eldest princess, and her father is the governor of Xuzhou. Cui Yaoyao hails from one of the Five Great Families, with a graceful figure and a beauty said to light up the capital. At the spring farewell banquet at Jingming Pool, Cui Yaoyao hides beneath banana leaves to lounge around. Her uncle runs after her and tries to persuade Xiao Ji: “The Cui family of Xuzhou is one of the old aristocratic Five Great Families. Their lands are rich, and winning their support could secure half the realm. The Eleventh Lady Cui has skin like jade and beauty enough to topple kingdoms. Why shouldn’t you take her as your wife? Why did you turn down Lord Cui in front of everyone?” Xiao Ji smiles. “The Eleventh Lady Cui is spoiled and shallow. She’s fit to be a concubine, but not a wife.” Cui Yaoyao sits bolt upright in shock. “What kind of bastard dares look down on me?” Later, Xiao Ji: “She’s wonderful...” Theme: Be self-reliant and strong, even in adversity.