The Young Lord Has It Rough

In the past, Chen Qinghuan had been the only daughter of an imperial merchant family, wealthy and well-born, skilled with both pen and sword. Truly, she had everything going for her.

Except for one thing: she was terrified of marriage.

So, relying on her family’s vast fortune, she loudly declared that she would never set foot in the imperial palace or a noble residence.

That was until one day, wearing a coroner’s secret identity, she met Yan Su, a stunningly handsome young lord of the Jinyiwei.

And then, drooling, she climbed into the bridal sedan.

After that, the young lord had her entire family arrested and their estate searched.

On their wedding day, the young lord used the secrets of her whole family to secure a promotion of three ranks. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and sneered, “In this life, what I’m best at is using people.”

[Later]

She became the ruler of the Northern Frontier. She deliberately revealed herself and let herself be captured, all to set a trap for revenge.

The Duke, whose power eclipsed all under heaven, knew how dangerous it was. Yet he rode a thousand miles, drenched in blood, and stormed the enemy camp just to keep her safe.

But she looked at him with cold eyes, stepped over all he had sacrificed, and smiled faintly.

“Your Grace, in this life, what I’m best at is letting people down.”

Reader’s Guide:

1. Happy ending, one-on-one, both leads’ first and only love. A powerful heroine and a plot-driven political struggle. The blurb only describes the romance; the main story focuses on the heroine’s career.

2. The heroine is not soft or helpless, and she undergoes major growth. The hero is a dashing young Jinyiwei officer and the only son of a duke. The hero was not responsible for the injustice suffered by the heroine’s family; he was a victim too.

3. A serious historical drama, with suspense in the first half and political intrigue in the second. The first chapter is from the hero’s perspective; all the rest are from the heroine’s.

4. The blurb has been saved as a screenshot.

Please add my upcoming novel, I Take Up My Spear and Plot with You.

A decisive, resilient woman general * her former husband, a twisted, sinister, black-hearted crown prince. They love and hate each other in equal measure.

Blurb:

Xie Xiang had endured a difficult life, and the only person she could rely on was her beloved husband, Xiao An.

But one day, he brought home a courtesan who was about to give birth, and cast Xie Xiang out that same day.

The next day, the Turks attacked the city. Xiao An was imprisoned for treason and executed by being torn apart by five horses.

Everything happened so quickly that Xie Xiang did not even know who she should grieve for first.

Remembering how kind he had been to her over the years, Xie Xiang turned back halfway to collect his body. There, she suddenly discovered the truth.

After learning the truth, Xie Xiang held Xiao An’s broken corpse and stitched it together all night. Her hair nearly turned white overnight.

Everyone laughed at her for overestimating herself. They said her attempt to overturn the verdict and clear his name was doomed from the start.

Unexpectedly, she turned around and went to the battlefield.

Then came chaos, bloody battles, and brilliant strategies.

Xie Xiang transformed into the great general everyone in the capital sought to court.

After all that suffering, justice would soon be served. It was only a matter of time.

But on the very day she went to the palace to request an imperial decree, she suddenly discovered that her husband, who should have died three years ago, was now alive and well as the crown prince.

Only then did Xie Xiang understand that all the hardships she had endured had been orchestrated by him. He had treated her like an insect to be toyed with.

And now, he and the officials in court all seemed certain that she would accept the imperial seal and share in the wealth and power of the royal family.

But they had forgotten that she was no longer a sheltered woman confined to her inner chambers.

Make a general submit?

Xie Xiang refused.

Xiao An:

Once, Xiao An had wanted nothing more than to spend his life with his childhood sweetheart and beloved wife, Xie Xiang.

But when the Rebellion of Liujia broke out, Xiao An was falsely accused and imprisoned.

After his faith collapsed, Xiao An had no choice but to slaughter the life he had known and trade places with the true culprit.

/This is what the people of this world owe him./

For many years afterward, he reminded himself of this whenever he woke from a nightmare.

But he never imagined that, on the eve of becoming emperor, the last enemy he would have to eliminate would be the general who had once fought bloody battles on his behalf to clear his name, and who now wanted neither the throne nor the title of empress, only his death: Xie Xiang.

Reader’s Guide:

1. The heroine is not a virgin; the hero is. The leads love and hate each other because of their opposing positions, not because of a groveling-for-forgiveness plot. The second male lead gets the girl.

2. The writing style leans toward a serious historical drama.

3. The hero is sinister, twisted, and black-hearted. The heroine is a decisive and resilient woman general. The second male lead is a bright and sunny young man who turns out to be irresistible.

Theme: Keep your heart undisturbed, do not be trapped by love, and do not fear the future. (Feng Zikai)