The Clan Matriarch (Married First, Love Later)

An aristocratic marriage-alliance romance, the censor’s legitimate daughter VS a powerful minister and duke.

Coercive love / substitute romance / rekindled love

1.

Cheng Yingyang is the apple of County Princess Zhaoming’s eye. Her parents separated when she was young, and she grew up far from the capital.

After her stepfather was convicted of a crime, her biological father brought her back to the Cheng family. To get out of marrying the “eligible young talents” chosen by her stepmother, she used her resemblance to the Duke Huguo’s first love to marry into the ducal household.

After the wedding, she became the virtuous wife in everyone’s eyes, managing the household with perfect efficiency.

She stood by Fu Chengyue as he fought treacherous ministers and put down the rebellious prince. He reached the pinnacle of power at a young age, and she believed she held a place in his heart, until she saw Fu Chengyue find his first love again. Suddenly, everything seemed like a joke.

2.

Fu Chengyue has an exceptionally handsome face, a noble status, and a string of distinguished military achievements. Countless families hoped to marry into his family, but he remained alone, until he met Cheng Yingyang and readily agreed to marry her.

He won a great victory over the rebels, rose to the highest ranks of the court, and cleared his teacher’s family of their false charges. It should have been cause for celebration, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel happy. His wife was growing more and more depressed, and even wanted to spend long periods at her parents’ home.

Had he done something wrong?

When Cheng Yingyang said she wanted to give her place to Zhang Yafeng, Fu Chengyue completely lost his composure. His eyes reddened, his expression turning fierce. “Has Yingying fallen for someone else? Does she not want me anymore!”

As if that could happen. In this life, Cheng Yingyang can only belong to him!

Both leads are virgins. The heroine is emotionally detached early on; the powerful male lead pursues her and begs for love. An obsessive romance.

Please add Copper Sparrow Terrace to your reading list!

The last empress VS the founding emperor

A love story filled with bitterness and passion, angsty first and sweet later

1.

It wasn’t until Huo Zhaoyi became empress that she learned she wasn’t truly a member of the Huo family. To produce an empress, the Huo family had switched her with their own infant son. The child who had been switched away had now raised an army in Yancheng, and his troops were nearly at the capital’s gates.

Ling Fengshi was once the unruly younger son of a wealthy merchant family in Yancheng, carefree and at ease. But after the Great Sheng army was defeated and ceded Yan territory to foreign tribes, leaving the people in misery, he decided to raise an army in rebellion.

2.

When the city fell, Huo Zhaoyi knelt before Ling Fengshi. His stunningly handsome face was expressionless, as his generals urged him, “The demon empress who brought ruin to the country must be put to death!”

Ling Fengshi gave a cold laugh. “That would be letting her off too easily. Lock her in Copper Sparrow Terrace.”

During Emperor Wu’s reign, grand construction projects were undertaken. He built the Leopard House and gathered beauties and rare beasts from across the realm, indulging in debauchery without restraint. It was later known as Copper Sparrow Terrace.

Only after Yancheng fell did Ling Fengshi learn the truth about his birth. He would never forgive the Huo family for abandoning him, and he had no intention of letting Huo Zhaoyi go, either.

But when he saw her breathtaking beauty, radiant as a peach blossom, he began to waver. He had plenty of ways to torment her, so why not keep her around?

3.

In the early days of Great Yan, the officials petitioned the emperor to fill the imperial harem. He rejected every petition. Ling Fengshi was already in his twenties and still had no consorts or children. Had he been so devoted to war that he had never caught on?

As the officials busied themselves arranging a romantic chance encounter for him, they discovered that the emperor had been sneaking in and out of Copper Sparrow Terrace with suspicious frequency. There was only one person imprisoned there: the former empress!

Ling Fengshi held Huo Zhaoyi in his arms. Though he had once been as cold as an iceberg, he was patient enough to gently coax her. “I was wrong. Turn around and look at me. I’m not bad-looking, you know.”

The male lead is a virgin; the female lead is not. Don’t read if that bothers you. Happy ending.

Theme: Keep moving forward bravely in the face of adversity