The Fragrant Beauty

I was Father Emperor's most beloved princess. I grew up pampered with fine silks and exquisite food, and even when I went out, I rode in a covered carriage with an honor guard clearing the way. I could choose my consort from among the princes and nobles.

Then one day, a new top-ranked scholar with no sense of propriety actually asked to marry me before the court. He had neither wealth nor power, just a scholar from a humble family. In my eyes, apart from his good looks and a little learning, he had nothing going for him. Who gave him the nerve to think he could marry me?

But he was always gentle with me. When it was cold, he gave me extra clothes; when I caught a chill, he personally brewed medicine for me. Sometimes he even brought me little trinkets from the common folk to cheer me up. But I treated him badly, using him as a plaything I could summon and dismiss whenever I pleased.

In the tenth year of Tianyuan, I married him.

In the thirteenth year of Tianyuan, he led rebel troops into the capital. Everywhere they passed, rivers of blood flowed. Only then did I learn he was the posthumous son of the previous dynasty's royal family, and that he had come to the capital for revenge.

Flames blazed outside the imperial palace. I sat in the hall, listening to the clash of weapons outside without saying a word.

A palace attendant told me that the princes of our Great Liang dynasty were all unyielding men of iron will, and that I could follow the stories in the novels by leaping from the city wall to cow the enemy.

I shook my head. The city wall was so high that my brains would splatter if I jumped. I might even break a bone. I'd surely be unrecognizable, and it would look horrific.

Another attendant suggested that since death was unavoidable if we fell into the rebels' hands, I might as well end my life with a strip of white silk.

I frowned. I'd heard that when people hanged themselves, their tongues stuck out. It wasn't pretty at all.

The attendant suggested poison instead...

I cut him off. Poison would make me bleed from every orifice, and my lips would turn black, ruining my looks. Absolutely not.

While I was still agonizing over it, the hall doors opened. The man at the front was peerlessly handsome, but his expression was sinister and cold. Blood ran down the tip of his longsword, and the stench of it filled the air.

I felt dazed. This man was my consort, and also the greatest enemy of my life.

Reading guide:

★ The main story is told in third person.

★ The second male lead rises to prominence. He is not the female lead's love interest, but there is a groveling arc.

★ The heroine has had previous partners, but the hero has not. If this bothers you, proceed with caution.

★ The fall of the kingdom and the start of an age of chaos.

★ Many original worldbuilding details.

Theme: Positive and healthy.