I Win the Harem's Favor by Growing Flowers

My new novel next door, The Young Empress, is now underway. Please give it a read!

One-sentence summary: After learning the truth about my birth, I can hear flowers talk!

Chu Jin lived as a farm girl for fifteen years. On the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, she was taken to the capital and told that she was the long-lost legitimate daughter of the Duke's estate.

But when she returned to the estate, she found that there was already a young lady there. The girl who had taken her place was dazzlingly beautiful and more talented than anyone in the capital.

She lived cautiously at the Duke's estate, but accidentally discovered that she could hear flowers speak.

So... she learned a lot of little secrets.

Her birth mother despised her for growing up in the countryside and being crude and uncouth. Even her kindness toward Chu Jin was an act.

The man engaged to Chu Jingshu was a peerless talent, a famous young nobleman in the capital. But he was supposed to have been betrothed to Chu Jin since they were in the cradle. He was Chu Jin's fiancé.

The elders of the family seemed to sympathize with her misfortune, but behind her back they mocked her, saying she was not as fortunate as Chu Jingshu.

Later, she was granted in marriage to the crown prince, whom the flowers called a "homosexual."

Everyone waited to see her make a fool of herself and spend her life as a widow in all but name. They waited and waited, until she entered the central palace and became the most exalted woman under heaven.

Chu Jin thought the crown prince was incredibly handsome and as elegant as a jade tree. He simply loved teaching her, from music, chess, calligraphy, and painting to tactics and strategy. Chu Jin almost felt as though she'd married a tutor.

One day, the corners of Chu Jin's eyes were red, her doe eyes misty with tears, and her red lips swollen, vivid as blood.

The crown prince's dark eyes seemed to hold a thick fog. His voice was so hoarse it hardly sounded like his own. "Have you learned your lesson?"

Chu Jin bit her lip, the tip of her tongue numb. Weren't you supposed to be a homosexual???

This is a sweet romance set in an alternate world, 1v1, both leads' first relationship, with a slightly slow start. The heroine has a golden finger, and the hero is not a homosexual!

---The Young Empress blurb---

Zhao Guiyan is the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Rong's estate. Her mother died early, and her stepmother treats her harshly, so life at the estate is difficult. The only one who truly cares for her is her beloved legitimate elder sister, Zhao Qingluan.

When Zhao Qingluan dies in Fengyi Palace, Zhao Guiyan loses both her mother and her sister in an instant.

She knows in her heart that her sister did not die a natural death.

The Zhao family has lost its empress and must choose another young woman to enter the palace. Zhao Guiyan kneels in the snow for three days and three nights, finally earning the opportunity.

Emperor Jinghe ascended the throne as a young man. In his fifteen years on the throne, the land has prospered and the empire has flourished, ushering in a golden age for Great Wei. He is dignified and proper, deep-minded, and well versed in the ways of a ruler. He never favors one consort over the others, and everyone praises him as a perfect emperor.

One day, a young empress appears in the palace. She is spoiled and innocent, and her eyes and heart overflow with adoration for him. Little by little, he breaks his own rules and grants her boundless favor.

Later, Cheng Jingyi learns that it was all a deception. His eyes red, his face contorted with rage, he demands, "Did you ever love me at all?"

Theme: Remain strong and persevere through adversity.