The Concubine

When Zhaozhao was six, she cracked her head in a fall. Dazed and vacant, she became the village's famous "little fool."

When she was sixteen, Zhaozhao ran into a carriage, and a young man of the highest rank and wealth took her away from her miserable life.

As a kept woman, Zhaozhao should have had no reason to worry, but then she had a nightmare.

In the dream, she angered her lord and was tormented for two months at his other residence.

Outside the dream, two days later, her lord came. She was frightened and afraid, tears in her eyes, as he threatened her: "Don't cry."

When the man was about to leave, Zhaozhao gathered all her courage and tugged at his sleeve through tear-filled eyes.

-- My lord, don't go.

**

Xiao Rongjing picked up a kept woman.

His little kept woman was beautiful, but slow-witted, with a straightforward heart that couldn't bend or adapt.

Xiao Rongjing: A kept woman is just a kept woman. A pretty face is enough.

Later, the little kept woman clung to him, asking him to come see her, and told him warmly and plainly that she liked him.

Xiao Rongjing sneered. "You really like me?"

Was it because he saved her? Was it dependence? Or did she like him the way she might like a cat or a dog?

Zhaozhao's thoughts instantly turned to mush.

Xiao Rongjing: Forget it. Why argue with this little fool?

But...

Even if he couldn't bring himself to argue with her, he still did.

Sweet, delicate country beauty who is a little foolish x vicious, sharp-tongued Second Prince who doesn't mean what he says

One-on-one, both virgins

--

My next book, Second Marriage, is in the works. Here's the blurb:

After Zhu Zhu got married, everyone thought she had fallen into a pit of misery.

Her husband was an idle, useless man, had a thing for men, and was a lecherous scoundrel.

Because her concubine stepmother cried and made a scene, the marriage that should have gone to her younger half-sister ended up being Zhu Zhu's.

Zhu Zhu cried all night, then married him with swollen eyes.

The next day, at the tea ceremony, her imposing stepmother-in-law sat above her, while her husband, who had left her waiting all night, trembled like a quail.

Zhu Zhu's eyes lit up. Hiding her fear, she gazed up at her stepmother-in-law with adoration, ready to cling to her for support.

Her stepmother-in-law liked tea, so Zhu Zhu learned how to brew it. Her stepmother-in-law was in poor health, so Zhu Zhu made medicinal dishes. The bed was cold at night, so Zhu Zhu warmed it for her.

Zhu Zhu felt as if she had fallen into a pool of honey. In other households, mothers-in-law laid down rules for their daughters-in-law and sent in concubines to bear illegitimate sons. Zhu Zhu's wonderful mother-in-law taught her to write, gave her a private kitchen, and made her husband impotent!

"Zhu Zhu." A hand, harder and more masculine than any woman's, gripped her chin. "There won't be any more illegitimate children to bother you. Are you happy?"

Zhu Zhu trembled. "I-I am."

.

The talk in the capital gradually changed. Everyone said Zhu Zhu had married well. Men were fickle and unfaithful, and who knew how hard it was to serve one's parents-in-law, raise illegitimate children, and manage the household?

Only Zhu Zhu had won her stepmother-in-law's favor and been brought to live in her courtyard. Everything she ate, wore, and used was the finest. They say her mother-in-law couldn't bear to let her go at night, so she slept in her room.

Every night, Zhu Zhu curled up under the covers, eyes red and gaze timid, as the man guided her hand and pressed it to his chest...

.

The day she learned her mother-in-law was a man, Zhu Zhu cried very loudly.

Who would have thought that after losing the beloved mother-in-law she adored, Zhu Zhu would gain a future emperor for a husband?

Theme: Grow together, learn to trust, and stay true to yourself in love.