A Slow Spring

[Complete] (ノ^▽^)ノ I may occasionally fix typos, so don't worry about it.

[Weibo: Xiao Xiao Ye Coco] I post some bonus scenes there.

[Coming soon: "Lush Blossoms". A Mary Sue sweet romance in the same style. Please add it to your reading list.]

Song Qiumi and the Crown Prince grew up together. Everyone in the capital knew she had been hopelessly in love with him for years.

After finally reaching adulthood, she could at last become his officially recognized Crown Princess, and Song Qiumi was delighted every day.

But on their wedding day, the Crown Prince broke his promise and married two secondary consorts as well. One of them was Song Qiumi's cousin.

On their wedding night, the Crown Prince went to her cousin's room, leaving Song Qiumi alone with a lamp all night. At dawn, she destroyed the token he had given her and cut off the affection she had nurtured for him all these years.

To make sure her cousin's family, who had taken over her family's fortune, would not get off easily, Song Qiumi secretly stayed behind the next day when she went to pay her respects to the Emperor.

"The Song family is powerful, and the Crown Prince is disloyal. I am willing to serve as Your Majesty's eyes and ears. I only ask that Your Majesty protect me." Song Qiumi clenched her palm and knelt to plead.

The cold and heartless Emperor had already deposed three Crown Princes. His cool, indifferent gaze settled on this unexpectedly bold fourth Crown Princess, and he replied inscrutably, "I grant your request."

After enjoying the company of his secondary consort, the Crown Prince came out and asked his attendant, "Is the Crown Princess heartbroken?"

The attendant replied, "Not at all. Her spirits are excellent. She was just playing chess with His Majesty."

The Crown Prince said, "I want to see His Majesty."

The attendant replied, "His Majesty says you are behaving improperly and orders you to return to your residence and reflect on your mistakes under house arrest."

The Crown Prince: ???

Later, the Song family fell into disgrace, the Crown Prince was finished, and the whole capital waited to laugh at Song Qiumi, expecting her to become the fourth deposed Crown Princess.

They waited and waited, but Song Qiumi rose higher and higher, becoming the first Empress of Great Yong.

From then on, her brilliance was bound to the empire, and her glory was joined with that of the Emperor.

[About the Male Lead] #He is the most heartless ruler, yet the most tender husband#

The scumbag's ashes will be scattered at the crematorium. No explanation needed.

A cold-hearted Emperor x a young and beautiful Crown Princess. An old virgin meets a little temptress. The male lead deposes Crown Princes as easily as child's play. He is an iron-blooded Emperor who always keeps his word. Both leads are sexually inexperienced. The ultimate melodramatic, over-the-top Mary Sue romance, sweet and satisfying. The blurb and some character names date back to 2020.

The novel was previously titled "Ruler and Father" (Both leads are sexually inexperienced. The male lead and the Crown Prince are not related by blood. The Crown Prince is a member of the imperial clan whom the male lead picked up on a whim. His name is listed under his birth parents in the imperial genealogy, and aside from being ruler and subject, he has no relationship of any kind to the male lead. "Ruler and Father" refers to the sovereign of all under heaven, a ruler who loves his people as his own children: the "ruler" in the phrase "Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, Teacher," the provider of the people's livelihood, like a founding father. The heroine's relationship with her former husband ends before she develops a relationship with the male lead, so there is no violation of moral principles.)

This is not a traditionally authentic historical romance, and some expressions may not sound period-appropriate. Cover: k

A recommendation for my upcoming novel, "How to Win the God of My Dreams," pinned at the top of my author page.

Yun Shang had admired the Crown Prince since childhood. He was as bright and noble as the moon, a man who seemed to have stepped out of a painting. But the Crown Prince had long been betrothed to the daughter of a powerful and prestigious Chancellor.

However, when the Crown Prince was fifteen, an accident destroyed his looks and left him disabled. The once peerless darling of the heavens became gloomy, eccentric, and quick-tempered.

Overnight, the Eastern Palace was deserted. The Chancellor tactfully tried to call off the marriage, the officials began entertaining other ambitions, and even the Emperor wavered over the succession.

Only Yun Shang could not suppress her delight. Once, he had been the moon beyond her reach. Now, she could take him simply by reaching out.

She got her wish and married into the Eastern Palace. Late one night, she looked at his peaceful sleeping face. Though it was covered in scars, she felt completely satisfied.

He was now isolated and helpless, with no choice but to rely on her and depend on her.

**

After waking from a nap, she found herself back before her marriage. The Crown Prince was still that aloof, solitary moon, and the Chancellor's daughter was still his fiancee.

But the Chancellor's daughter suddenly fell gravely ill, and the only cure was in Yun Shang's hands. She told the Crown Prince and the Chancellor that the sole condition for handing over the medicine was the Crown Prince ending his engagement to the young lady.

The Crown Prince agreed. And after Yun Shang saved his mother as well, he agreed to marry her.

The Crown Prince now shone like the moon and snow together. His brow brimmed with the spirited confidence of a young heir to the throne. The Eastern Palace was crowded with visitors, and he was adored by all and admired by thousands.

Yet on the day before the wedding, the man by Yun Shang's side turned back into that sinister, twisted, unpredictable, obsessive Crown Prince.

#I will drag that lofty, luminous moon into the mud, and at last I can touch him as I please#

#The once-unattainable flower on the highest peak now feels deeply inferior because of me, frets over losing me, and lies awake tossing and turning#

The male leads from two parallel worlds are insanely jealous of each other. A top-tier battlefield of love.

The lofty Crown Prince x a dark, deranged Crown Princess. One-on-one romance, both leads sexually inexperienced.

(The heroine switches back and forth between the two worlds. The male leads in the parallel worlds are the same person, but the timelines and events have changed.)

(The heroine does not deliberately harm anyone.)

Important warnings for this upcoming novel (read carefully!!!): Readers who are fans of the male lead should absolutely stay away. You will regret reading it. Since this warning is given in advance, comments expressing sympathy for the male lead or blaming the heroine will not be accepted. Readers who are extremely devoted to the heroine, or who only enjoy strong female leads, are also advised not to read. I am not responsible for any mismatch with your expectations. Although I consider myself partial to the heroine, you may still find after reading that this isn't what you wanted.

A recommendation from a fellow author: ★ A modern alternate-universe mystery with a horror and sci-fi bent ★ "The Deep Space Arrival" by Zi Qiong. Here is the blurb:

The stars open their eyes in the night;

On the moldy carpet, can you see the dried-up slime?

What is growing there is silver fungus;

What is surging there is a pitch-black lake;

The waves murmur, muttering madness.

Then the cold wind blows out strings of laughter,

Hee-hee, ha-ha, bloated and bursting.

They ask again and again:

Who discovered the secret of the worms?

Liang Wanyi never imagined that one day she would gaze up at familiar yet alien stars on an unknown, silent planet, searching through the vast, boundless cosmos for Earth, 2.54 million light-years away.

Theme: Be good to those who treat you well, be grateful, and remain loyal.