Cherished Qingqing

[New novel now available: "Mi'er". Please add it to your favorites!] [Blurb:] The Crown Prince Ling Mo is as pure and bright as the moon, with the handsome looks of a refined gentleman. Only Changqing knows there's another face hidden beneath that skin. As Ling Mo's personal maid, Changqing tends to His Highness's daily needs, from his clothes to his meals, and spends every night in his bed. That's already more than enough work, but the Prince Regent keeps pressuring her to break up the Crown Prince and the Chief Councilor's daughter's promising match. The workload is heavy and the pay doesn't match. Then, one night, Changqing dreamed ten years into the future and saw how her life would end: She would become Ling Mo's Crown Princess, but the Chief Councilor's daughter would cause her to miscarry, leaving her childless. Her noble Crown Prince would die in battle, and before his death, he would give her a bottle of poison to accompany him in death... So Changqing made up her mind: She had to leave. She was afraid of pain and death, had no great ambitions, and only wanted to bring her exiled parents home and live a peaceful life... Later, she really did leave. She left without a trace, with nothing to hold her back. Ling Mo searched every inch of the capital for her, day and night for seven days. All he found were a few strands of her hair on the bed. He clutched them in his hand and coughed up blood... Changqing saw Ling Mo again in Jiangnan. The handsome young man now had gray at his temples. She had made a name for herself in Suzhou and Hangzhou with her musical talent and had just climbed into the good graces of the son of the Governor-General of the Two Jiangs. The Crown Prince, who had never allowed her to get a word in, suddenly seemed like a different person. "Please don't leave me alone again. All right?" Changqing pretended to wipe away a tear. "Your Highness, Changqing and Young Master Jiang are in love with each other." Three days later, the Governor-General of the Two Jiangs was brought down for embezzling disaster relief funds, and his family was confiscated and exiled. Ling Mo's long eyes turned cruel as he smiled at Changqing. "Are you and Young Master Jiang still in love with each other?" [Bonus scene:] At the New Year banquet, the Empress Dowager held a gathering to consider candidates for the Crown Prince's secondary consort. The daughter of a third-rank Minister of the Imperial Secretariat stepped forward and danced, stunning the entire hall. After the dance, the Empress Dowager asked Ling Mo, "What do you think of her?" Ling Mo coldly tossed out eight words: "Vulgar and seductive. Not worth mentioning." The noble young ladies sat there dumbfounded. The Crown Prince was so cold and unromantic. Marrying into the Eastern Palace would surely mean a bitter life. Several days later, Changqing performed a whirlwind dance for the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace. "Changqing has been vulgar and seductive for once, Your Highness. Do you like it?" Ling Mo pulled her into his arms. "I like it very much." [Gentle, kind, scheming beauty X Ruthless, jealous, and petulant future emperor] [One-on-one romance, both reborn, heroine's memories are rather hazy] [The hero has no other women in either lifetime. The heroine faces romantic rivals early on, and the hero faces them later.] Next novel coming soon: "Mi'er" - Flirt with the hottest men, make the sweetest snacks. [Blurb 1:] Sour soup noodles, braised beef. Would you like another bowl of our new purple rice dumplings, dear customer? The fresh fish that came ashore this morning has been filleted and simmered into congee. Roast chicken goes with lemongrass; potatoes go with purple onions; tomatoes go with everything. And we have our special chili dip, which you can't get anywhere else. Eat as much as you like! [Blurb 2:] On New Year's Eve, snow fell thick and fast. Ming Yu, the Imperial Guard's Commander-in-Chief, was betrayed by a trusted subordinate and collapsed in Sweetwater Alley, gravely wounded. When he awoke, his knife wounds burned and he was blind. The only thing he could hear was a little maid's voice beside him, asking after him day after day. He ate her noodles, lived in her house, and even needed the little maid to guide him to the latrine. He secretly planned that if he recovered one day and reclaimed his marquis title and official post, he would reward her with a hundred taels of gold. But as time went by, something started to feel wrong. The little maid cut her hand in the kitchen, and he felt as though his own heart were bleeding. A young nobleman stopped by the shop and chatted with her for a while. He couldn't stand watching and only wanted to kick the man out... Once his wounds had healed and he regained his sight, he obediently handed over the hundred taels of gold. But the little maid had already used her own skills to become the proprietress of one of the best restaurants in the capital, enjoying all the glory that came with it. He could only dress himself up and go to her room, swallowing the bitterness in his heart as he asked, "Are you going to abandon me?" [Capable, sweet, and down-to-earth proprietress X Ruthless, aloof, and beautiful Imperial Guard Commander-in-Chief] [They protect each other and grow together] Theme: Understand each other, love each other, and defend the city and the country.