This is an old-school, melodramatic romance. If that's not your thing, please don't read it. Let's respect each other's tastes.
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Ji Ying is a bedchamber maid, with cherry-red lips, fragrant cheeks, and a slender, supple figure. Her sole purpose is to serve Song Yuanzhou, the head of a family famed for its gardens.
She was originally sold into servitude by the Bai family, the household of Song Yuanzhou's betrothed, Lady Bai.
The Bai family had made a powerful connection and no longer wanted their daughter to marry Song Yuanzhou, a sickly man, so they sent Ji Ying to wait for him to die.
She knew how lowly and insignificant she was in his eyes.
He used her as a shield to protect his beloved cousin, leaving her to endure abuse, and sent her back to the Bai family to spy on them, putting her life in danger again and again.
Even when she was injured because of him, he only watched with cold indifference.
What's more, he demanded that she remain utterly faithful. If her attention wandered even slightly while serving him, she would be severely punished...
He often asked her, "Who am I? And who are you?"
Kneeling at his feet, Ji Ying replied in the most servile tone, "The master is this servant's lord, and this servant is the master's lowly slave."
He sneered.
Ji Ying didn't understand why he was still dissatisfied with her when she was already so lowly.
Then one day, Ji Ying got what she wanted, turned around, and left without hesitation.
After she was gone, she heard that the lofty master had coughed up blood and fallen unconscious, his illness rapidly worsening. In his dreams, he often called out hoarsely,
"Yingying! Come back!"
Oh, he was probably calling for his beloved cousin. Anyway, it had nothing to do with her.
A cold, ruthless, sickly master vs. a hard-hearted bedchamber maid who patiently bides her time
*One-on-one, old-school romance
Coming soon: historical romance, "The Grand Secretary Sees Me as He Should"
Shen Rushi, a celebrated courtesan, once had a single client during her most desperate days. He went on to become the Grand Secretary of the dynasty.
Just as she was figuring out how to get in his good graces, the Grand Secretary took the initiative and handed her a contract.
"As long as you play your part well, mountains of gold and silver are yours."
Mountains of gold and silver were exactly what Shen Rushi lacked, and the more, the better.
The Grand Secretary added a reminder.
"Play your part properly. Don't entertain any other ideas."
Shen Rushi understood. She focused on playing her part to perfection:
She fussed over him, cared for him attentively, and even agreed when he got drunk one time, clung to her, and asked her to warm his bed.
But after that, he asked her to warm his bed every single day...
So Shen Rushi started taking medicine to prevent pregnancy.
But he flew into a rage and smashed her medicine bowl. He stared at her with a frighteningly dark gaze.
But Shen Rushi had her limits. "I'll play my part to the fullest, but having a child goes too far."
He pressed his lips tightly together. After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"So all this time, you've only been acting..."
Shen Rushi was baffled. Wasn't that what the Grand Secretary wanted?
With the contract in tatters, Shen Rushi had no choice but to pack her things and flee.
The Grand Secretary turned the whole capital upside down!
*
Zhang Jitang rose through the ranks to become Grand Secretary. He thought that no matter how complicated or difficult the circumstances, he could play his part flawlessly.
But someone else was far more skilled at it than he was.
He chose her himself to act alongside him, only to end up getting caught in his own performance.
Once he was caught up in it,
he went to war and risked everything for her, never looking back.
Theme: Even in adversity, believe in hope, stay true to yourself, and persevere to the end.
