The Little Embroideress

[Next up: Chang'an Moon. Blurb below.] [This book's blurb is at the bottom.] 1, Rong Jin grew up roaming the martial world. The moment she first saw Lin Se, she found herself rather taken with him. She heard he was a young nobleman from the Western Yin Dynasty, the eldest son of the Duke's household, with a remarkably distinguished family background. He was handsome, courteous, and humble, but there was always a woman by his side. Only after asking around did Rong Jin learn that the two were childhood sweethearts, and that the woman was the Ninth Princess of the realm. Rong Jin's face darkened on the spot. 2, The Lin family was at the height of its power, with influence reaching throughout the court. Noble families of every stripe wanted to become connected to them through marriage, but Lin Se had gone and lost his head over a woman from the martial world. The beauty had skin like ice and bones like jade, with an alluring charm born into her. She only had to drape a slender arm around his waist and lift her almond-shaped eyes, and he would be so captivated he could never escape. 3, Even with countless enemies, Lin Se was determined to overcome every obstacle and bring her home in an eight-person wedding sedan. But on their wedding night, his beloved wife asked him, "Your Lin family holds immense power. Once I marry into it, can I walk all over Chang'an City from now on?" Perhaps it was meant as a joke, but her words proved prophetic. His delicate, sweet wife would commit every kind of evil, driving the Lin family to ruin. Blurb for The Libertine Is a Young Prince: [The Libertine Ninth Prince] X [The Embroiderer, a Concubine's Daughter] In the water towns of Jiangnan, apart from its beauties, the most celebrated thing was the Su family's embroidery business. When Su Rongxiu was five, she took up needle and thread from her frail mother. Her mother told her that every stitch a girl made with her fingertips had to be heartfelt. If she merely went through the motions, even a finished design would be lifeless. An embroiderer's work had warmth. Without sincerity, even the finest piece was worthless. Her mother was always a woman of few words, and the name she called most often was "Rongxiu." She was a proper Jiangnan girl, sensitive and sentimental. Even the raindrops falling on a rainy day could bring her to tears. She had been pretty and exceptionally talented, and for two years the household had doted on her. But then her health worsened, her father stopped visiting, and the medicine stopped coming from the pharmacy. Only then did Su Rongxiu understand: Oh, so I have fallen out of favor. On the night her gravely ill mother was about to die, her eyes bloodshot, she clutched Su Rongxiu's hand and spoke desperately between coughs of blood. "Rongxiu, listen carefully. In this family, don't fight and don't compete. If your eldest aunt finds you a decent husband, then obey and marry him. If they refuse and only bully you, find a good man yourself and leave. Keep your eyes open, and never, ever entrust your whole life to the wrong person." Su Rongxiu followed her mother's advice. Once she entered the inner quarters, she shut herself away and focused on perfecting her embroidery. Everyone said the Third Miss was meek and would never amount to anything. Then, one year, on one particular day, a rare heavy snow fell over Jiangnan. The young master held a red plum-blossom paper umbrella and wore a fox-fur cloak. As he passed Su Rongxiu, he turned his head slightly and said, "Miss, after doing so many wicked things, aren't you afraid of getting what you deserve?" Theme: Strive to live well