The Jade Inherits the Pearl

Blurb written on 2024/06/10 [High-and-Mighty, Unwell Cousin x Vengeful, Delicate Cousin] When Huai Zhen was sixteen, her father died. Her father's superior adopted her as his goddaughter and brought her to live at the marquis's estate. The estate was all gold and jade on the outside, but inside it was a den of wolves and tigers. Huai Zhen endured the young masters' covetous gazes day after day, plotting to escape this den of predators as soon as possible. Then, one day, distinguished guests arrived at the estate. By chance, Huai Zhen overheard the young masters talking behind a screen. "Our adopted sister Huai Zhen is certainly beautiful, but her family background is lowly and she's vain. She'll never be accepted in respectable company." "Father wants to repay her father's kindness, so he's asked us to find her a suitable husband from a prominent family. But what prominent family in Chang'an would take her as a wife? If she's willing to lower herself, taking her as a concubine wouldn't be out of the question." Amid the curling wisps of tea steam, the young lords of prominent families chatted and laughed, as dazzling as precious jade. Those young lords from a world utterly different from hers. Huai Zhen's fingertips, resting on the screen, turned white from tapping. She was born in a remote backwater and had never seen gold, jade, or jewels, so of course she liked pretty things. But if all the other young ladies were allowed to like them, why couldn't she? They were the ones who couldn't behave themselves, each one coming to seduce her. If they were going to say she was shameless and vain, fine. She would make these haughty young lords who looked down on her gaze up at her one day! ** In the eyes of the world, the heir of the Duke of Dingguo was young, commanded a powerful army, and was a close confidant of the emperor. With a first-rate family background and first-rate power, he was beyond the reach of countless people. Surely his future wife would come from a prominent family. But no one expected the elegant and refined young master Pei to marry an unknown country girl. What methods had that girl used? ** On her wedding night, Huai Zhen removed her makeup in the bridal chamber. As she tidied her dressing table, she spotted a snake-shaped jade pendant in her husband's box and couldn't help recalling something out of place: That day, in the tea room at the marquis's estate, the young lords from prominent families had chatted and laughed. The man with his back to her had a tall, slender figure and an air of nobility. He seemed to have been wearing a pendant like that at his waist. Back then, he had smiled at the young lord of the marquis's estate, who wanted to take her as a concubine, and said: "If she's as vain as you say, how could she possibly enter your household? She's merely the daughter of an old friend, staying under your roof. There's no need to pay her any mind." "Then, Cousin, is Huai Zhen the kind of woman you like?" "Of course not." The dark, snake-shaped jade pendant was icy to the touch, like an invisible snake crawling over her skin. She slowly raised her head and saw her newlywed husband walking in from outside, one step at a time. She sneered inwardly. You bastard. Huai Zhen had a secret: before she married, she had been involved with several young men at once. Fortunately, the biggest fish took the bait, so Huai Zhen reeled them in at just the right moment and quit while she was ahead. But when word of her marriage spread, the young men who had once looked down on her came one after another to demand answers, all wanting to keep seeing her. Huai Zhen had always thought she had hidden it well, until one day... Her young husband stood tall beside the dressing table, looking through the letters she had exchanged with those young men. He looked at her, the faintest smile tugging at his lips. "So, Wen Huai Zhen, I was one of the many fish you baited your hook to catch, hmm?" His gaze was dark, like a venomous snake poised to strike. 1. A story about a cunning, aloof beauty who thinks he could never fall in love, only to be proven spectacularly wrong. 2. The female lead is a stunning beauty and a total heartthrob. 3. A love-triangle free-for-all. Theme: Rise above adversity and persevere to survive.