Springtime in the Cage

[Main story complete]

Lu Qingning lost her parents at a young age and had to live under someone else's roof. She learned early to read people's expressions. With a little cunning and a clever disposition, she carved out a living in the Cui family of the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence.

When she reached the age to marry, she resolved to find herself a safe, stable match.

Qingning stayed calm and composed, smiling gently as she led Third Young Master Cui into giving her his whole heart.

One day, in a warm bed beneath the lotus-patterned curtains, she stretched out her snow-white wrist and lightly hooked a finger into the man's jade belt. Her voice was full of reproach: "Third Young Master, please take Qingning away from the Cui family."

But when the curtains were drawn back, she saw that the man beside the bed wasn't her Third Young Master at all. It was her cousin from the Cui family, who looked as gentle as jade but was, in truth, sinister and cold.

Cui Lin gripped her wrist and stroked it slowly, smiling faintly. "A Ning, no one can take you away."

Cui Lin, heir to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, was said by the world to be gentle and refined, like a jade mountain about to topple. Yet in private, the warmth in the peerless young lord's eyes would vanish, leaving only an indifference that regarded nothing as important.

Until the day he saw Qingning standing beneath a magnolia tree, her eyes bright as she lightly hooked a finger around Third Young Master's hand.

The young heir raised his head in the shadows, his Adam's apple bobbing. He knew then that Lu Qingning would never make it even half a step out of the Cui residence. He had never failed to get what he wanted.

Please bookmark my upcoming stories: The Lazy Fish's Notes on a Substitute Marriage and Older Brother.

The Lazy Fish's Notes on a Substitute Marriage

The Yan family has a third daughter named Yan He. Rumor has it that she's sweet and lazy, and all she likes to do is eat and sleep.

When Yan He reached marriageable age, Master Yan spent night after night fretting over how he could marry off his lazy daughter.

One day, the Yan family's eldest legitimate daughter, Yan Jiuwei, insisted on breaking off her engagement because her fiancé's family had fallen on hard times and even lost their title.

Master Yan slapped his thigh and sent Yan He to take her place.

After the Pei family fell from grace, the legitimate son Pei Qingzhi studied from dawn until night. He toiled over his books and eventually became the newly appointed top scholar. But without his family's support, he still couldn't compare with the sons of the great clans.

He carried the burden of his whole family and never dared to slack off for even a moment. Always diligent and self-disciplined, he seemed well suited to the dignified, ambitious eldest legitimate daughter of the Yan family.

Who could have guessed that when he lifted the bridal veil on his wedding day, his bride would have been switched for the lazy, food-loving Third Young Lady Yan?

Yan He blinked her misty, peach-blossom eyes and handed him a pastry. "You're standing so straight. Doesn't it get tiring?"

Pei Qingzhi: ...

Later, Pei Qingzhi entered the Grand Secretariat, received a first-rank noble title, and rose to the highest position in court. Third Young Lady Yan also received a noblewoman's title.

People in the capital discussed it endlessly, saying that Third Young Lady Yan must have been pretending to be a fool to catch her prey. Otherwise, how could she make the cold and aloof Marquis Pei cherish her like the apple of his eye?

But when they saw Third Young Lady Yan eating pastries in the garden, the noblewomen and young ladies all beat their chests in frustration. What else could it be but jealousy? She really was lazy, so why was she so lucky?!

Older Brother

Wuwu, the adopted stepdaughter of the Duke's residence, was blessed with delicate, lovely beauty, soft and fragile as flowers and jade, drawing the attention of the young lords of the household.

Pei Huai, from the third branch of the family, cornered her beneath a decorative rockery. "Wuwu, you have no one to rely on anymore. If you come with me, I'll make sure you have food and clothes for the rest of your life."

Wuwu had no choice, and suddenly thought of her stepbrother, the bright, upright young heir Pei Yanshi, whose character was as noble as the wind and moon.

Wuwu went to him for help, and Pei Yanshi really did take care of Pei Huai, just as she had hoped.

Wuwu thought her older brother truly was a principled and upright gentleman.

One day, after drinking a little, Wuwu bowed to Pei Yanshi. "Thank you, Older Brother. You're not like the others. You're the most pure and blameless of all."

But her older brother, as elegant as a jade tree, gently stroked her cheek and murmured in her ear, "Wuwu, I'm no different from them."

He wanted her just as much, and was just as willing to do anything to possess her.

Pei Yanshi, heir to the Duke's residence, had always been disciplined and courteous, as bright and clear as the wind and moon. He rose to a high position while still young. He was the moon in the sky and snow on a mountain peak, beyond reproach.

He should have remained that way, pure and noble his whole life.

But that day, Wuwu lowered her eyes and smiled, and fell into his sight. The jade-like gentleman began to develop a dark possessiveness, little by little.

Theme: Stay positive even when faced with hardship.