Seeking a Golden Branch

Blurb

Zhao Qin was beautiful and charming, innocent and kind. As the late emperor's beloved little princess, she was doted on by all.

But at a palace banquet when she was young, she was denounced as a fake princess and driven out of the palace. By a twist of fate, Zhao Qin adopted the real imperial prince, Li Huaiyu, outside the palace and pretended to be his aunt.

The boy was obedient and sensible, with breathtaking looks. Zhao Qin adored him and treated him like family, never imagining that he would develop feelings he shouldn't have.

The boy shed his former mask of gentleness and vulnerability, revealing his frenzied love. "Auntie, please don't marry off to another kingdom."

In the chilly evening breeze, Zhao Qin stood in the pavilion and shook her head, refusing him.

She never imagined that the next day he would imprison her in a dungeon and dress her in a wedding gown meant for him.

Night had fallen. Countless soldiers clashed, and the imperial capital was drenched in blood.

Zhao Qin joined forces with her elder brother from within and without, hoping to seize the throne.

By then, the young man wore the imperial robes. His dark eyes fixed on her as he said in a low voice, "Auntie, your betrayal hurts me like having my bones scraped clean..."

Zhao Qin knew the outcome was already decided. Hoping to keep her brother safe, she asked the new emperor through tear-blurred eyes, "What will it take for you to spare him?"

The young emperor gazed at her with gloomy eyes. What he wanted was forbidden by society, and she was unwilling to give it...

Everyone in the palace knew that the fake princess who had adopted the new emperor had rebelled and been confined in the palace. The new emperor was unpredictable, obsessive, and cruel, determined to make her wish she were dead.

Whenever they heard the princess's agonized sobs at night, the palace servants couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

Late one night, however, a night-shift servant peered through a crack in the door and saw, to their horror, that the new emperor, usually so cruel and gloomy, was pleading with the princess for her love.

The servant had never seen the emperor so gentle and radiant. He treated the princess like a priceless treasure, cradling her in his hands.

[Note: The female lead is not related by blood to anyone. The male lead is a wolf in sheep's clothing, going from secret admiration to taking her by force.]

Please add my new novel, Beloved Little Sister, to your collection!

[An innocent younger sister mistakes her twisted older brother for her savior. After she seduces him and abandons him, he forcibly drags her back.]

Pei Wan was merely an insignificant concubine-born daughter. After spending sixteen years at a Taoist convent, she was finally brought back to the family estate.

Pei Lingjun, the Pei family's legitimate eldest son, was as noble as an orchid, a virtuous gentleman whom the young men of noble families eagerly sought to emulate. He had a brilliant future ahead of him.

Wanwan always remembered how her elder brother, Pei Lingjun, had rescued her when she fell into the water as a child. After returning to the estate, she revered him like a god.

Her governess taught her that if she pleased Pei Lingjun, she might marry into a good family and make something of herself.

So Wanwan was kind to him, sending him beautifully crafted pastries, hoping he would find her a good match.

Pei Lingjun never lacked for people trying to please him. When Wanwan sent him those delicate pastries, he casually passed them on to the servants.

Why would a saintly gentleman bother with an insignificant concubine-born girl?

Everyone laughed at Wanwan for not knowing her place.

But he never expected that one day he would fall for her, and even the pastries he once despised would become something he craved every day.

At a spring banquet, the bright, cheerful young Marquis Ning chatted and laughed with Pei Wan. The sight was painfully grating to Pei Lingjun's cold eyes...

In a corner, he took Pei Wan's hand of his own accord, his gaze filled with an inscrutable emotion. "Wanwan, didn't you promise to always be good to your big brother and keep only him in your heart?"

Pei Wan had spent her childhood at a Taoist convent and knew nothing of worldly romance. She couldn't even remember when she might have said that to her elder brother. She nodded woodenly, remembering only how cold he had always been to her.

After he coaxed her, she obediently asked in confusion,

"I love you, big brother...?"

Pei Lingjun felt the insignificant concubine-born girl trying to please him like a soft feather brushing against his heart. He looked down on her, yet did nothing to stop her...

He never imagined he would lose his heart and fall madly in love with his younger sister, Pei Wan.

And he never expected that Wanwan had only been trying to get him to set her up with Marquis Ning. Watching the two of them share their tender feelings filled him with such fury that he ground his teeth.

The saintly gentleman had fallen into the mire, but he still refused to let go.

Even after she married, even in her red wedding gown, he would scheme at every turn to keep her in his grasp.

[They are not related by blood.]

Theme: Strive for the one you love.