A Woman of Noble Beauty

Blurb: Shen Yue had a dream when she was little. In the dream, she was chosen as Crown Prince Qin Xu's principal consort for her beauty and talent. Later, Qin Xu ascended the throne, and she became empress. Four years later, to make room for his pregnant childhood sweetheart cousin, Qin Xu stripped her of her title as empress. Just six months later, a plague broke out around the convent where she was living in seclusion. After she caught the disease, a mob locked her inside her meditation room and burned her alive... When Shen Yue woke up, she was filled with dread. But something went wrong at the later consort-selection ceremony! In full view of everyone, Crown Prince Qin Xu tenderly took his childhood sweetheart cousin's delicate hand and gave her the ruyi scepter that symbolized the position of Crown Princess. Shen Yue: ?!! Had she just been imagining things? Was she reading too much into it? Before she could recover, the young and imposing Crown Prince had already walked up to her and handed her the gold hairpin meant for a secondary consort... Shen Yue: Heh... I'm a proper young lady, so I won't swear at you, but I won't marry you! And then... Prince An, Qin Zhao, happened to return to the capital and watch his nephew's consort-selection ceremony. After witnessing the farce of a rejected proposal, he casually picked up a wife and took her home! His sweet young wife was every bit the perfect woman: gracious in public, capable in the kitchen, virtuous and considerate in every way. After their wedding, Prince An found himself thoroughly enamored and doted on her without end. He was more than satisfied. But later, he wasn't satisfied anymore. He kicked his own brother off the throne and took it for himself. Qin Zhao: Only the most exalted position in the realm, the throne of empress, is worthy of my wife. I'll give you all a chance to kneel and admire the empress! Everyone, whispering: Never have we seen anyone so shameless... Shen Yue: I also think I'm absolutely worthy of the throne... Everyone fainted! * A perfect proper young lady x a devoted wife-doting man with impeccable roots Coming soon: The Young Lady Is Determined to Raise Him Blurb: After Ning Wanwan's mother passed away, her loving maternal aunt took her home to raise her. Her aunt treated her like her own daughter, and the three older brothers and two sisters in the family all adored her, too. Ning Wanwan was very happy with her life. She figured she could take advantage of being so close to one of the brothers and coax him into marrying her. First, she set her sights on her second cousin, a bright and cheerful young man. Her second cousin loved sweets, so she gave him a piece of candy every day. Gradually, whenever her second cousin saw her, his eyes seemed to gaze at her as if she were honey. But at a garden poetry gathering, he fell in love at first sight with the graceful Princess Tingting, a talented young woman from the capital. The very next day, he happily went to her manor to ask for her hand in marriage... Ning Wanwan was so angry she threw all the candy in the box away. After a few gloomy days, she set her sights on her third cousin, a refined and shy young gentleman. Knowing that her third cousin liked reading martial arts stories, she sought out a pile of them for him. But before she'd even had time to read up on the genre, news arrived of a great victory at the border. A valiant female general, famous throughout the land, returned to the capital to receive her reward, and her third cousin managed to marry into her family thanks to his peerlessly handsome face... Now she had no hope at all. Ning Wanwan cried in frustration. Mu Xuanyang, the eldest young master of the Marquis's household, had helped arrange marriages for both his younger brothers, but his sweet and charming little cousin still hadn't given him the time of day. Unable to hold back any longer, he asked his younger sister to test the waters for him. Fifth Miss Mu Xuan Yi also found the situation baffling: If nothing else works, why not consider my eldest brother? He's better than my second brother in both strategy and martial arts, and he's just as handsome as my third brother... Ning Wanwan panicked and cried so hard she couldn't stop: But... but he's so big already. There's no way I could raise him right! Mu Xuanyang: ... * A play the pig to eat the tiger crybaby heroine x a ruthless, sweet-on-the-outside, scheming hero Note: The male and female leads are not related by blood at all. The heroine's mother and the hero's mother were childhood friends, that's all! * The Banquet at the Imperial Palace Blurb: In his previous life, Chu Huaian took the easy way out. He gave up the woman he truly loved and schemed to marry Fu Yunlang. He never looked back throughout that life, but he always regretted it, haunted by the possibility of what might have been. Later, he and Fu Yunlang were both reborn... * After the palace banquet ended that night, Fu Yunlang stopped him on his way out of the palace and asked earnestly, "Can you marry me again in this life?" He said, "No." So Fu Yunlang stepped aside. Chu Huaian watched her turn away and walk back, step by step, into that maze of towering walls and glittering splendor. Later, the course of her life changed dramatically. She was betrayed and used, stripped of power and influence, and left destitute and miserable. He stood right where he was, while she alone waded through a sea of blades and blood. For the rest of her life, even at her lowest, she never once looked back at him. * A clear-eyed, self-reliant heroine x a bitter hero who reforms too late Note: The man in the blurb isn't the hero. The hero is probably also the kind of bastard who ends up in a crematorium arc, that's all. Theme: Love yourself, grow stronger, and work hard to become a better person.