Little Beauty

Cui Huan, heir to the Marquis of Anping, is a good-for-nothing playboy.

But lately, the young marquis has changed completely. He stays home every day and never goes out. A friend came over to mock him: "Congratulations! The young marquis is finally settling down and getting serious!"

Cui Huan spat back, "Pah! What do you mean, settling down? I've fallen in love!"

As he spoke, he kept glancing toward the courtyard of the Cui family's matriarch.

There was a delicate beauty in the courtyard, with brows like emerald feathers and skin as white as snow. She looked so fragile that even her clothes seemed too heavy for her. After just two glances, Cui Huan felt weak all over...

Later, beneath the lotus-patterned bed curtains, the beauty's cheeks were flushed, and she lowered her brows, holding back tears. Cui Huan's heart turned to turmoil at the sight. He pulled her into his arms and coaxed her:

"Please, don't cry. I'll change everything from now on..."

Later still, Cui Huan rose to the highest position in court, second only to the emperor.

One day, work kept him late, and when he finally returned home, he found the beauty sulking with her back to him.

In the lamplight, her shoulders trembled slightly. She looked so graceful and frail that even her clothes seemed too heavy for her.

Cui Huan felt his heart twist with tenderness, unable to control himself.

Only after soothing the beauty with sweet words and tender affection did Cui Huan sigh:

"Great-grandmother, great-grandmother, I give up. You set up this beauty trap for me, and once I fell into it, I was doomed to spend the rest of my life unable to climb back out, yet enjoying every minute of it..."

Note: Fictional setting, one-on-one romance.

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Coming next: Stealing Fragrance. Please pre-order!

While recovering from an illness in the mountains, Princess Li Yanyi of Xingcheng

noticed that a handsome young scholar had moved into the neighboring courtyard.

With nothing to do, Li Yanyi was delighted to have found such a treasure.

From then on, she carried a ladder over every day and perched on the wall,

watching the scholar blush furiously while trying to keep his composure.

It became her greatest pleasure.

At last, one day, the scholar couldn't hold back any longer.

His face red with anger, he looked up at her on the wall and said, "Miss, if you want to look at me so badly, why not come in through the front gate and look all you like?"

Li Yanyi laughed at that,

her eyes curving as she looked at the scholar. "You're no fun. Sneaking around like this is what makes it exciting!"

After that, Li Yanyi kept teasing the scholar, but he remained unmoved, utterly unaffected.

Her interest soon waned. Her health had also recovered, so she left for the palace,

and was soon betrothed by the emperor to Chen Xiu, a newly risen top scholar at court.

At the engagement banquet, Chen Xiu pointed to someone and introduced him to Li Yanyi: "Your Highness, this is my maternal uncle."

Li Yanyi smiled and was about to nod in greeting,

but one look left her stunned.

Chen Xiu's uncle, Marquis Wang Xian of Ling'an, wore a python-embroidered robe and exuded an air of refined nobility.

But why did he have exactly the same face as the scholar from the mountains?

Chen Xiu, the princess's intended husband, had been troubled lately. He had no idea what he'd done wrong

that his uncle, who had always treated him with kindness,

now seemed displeased with him no matter what he did, picked on him at every turn, and found fault with him every day.

Li Yanyi knew the reason, but she didn't dare tell Chen Xiu,

because every night,

the refined and courteous Marquis of Ling'an, revered by all,

would climb over the walls of her princess's residence, then leap through the window into her bedroom.

Before leaving at dawn, the Marquis of Ling'an would rise and put on his clothes,

then lean close to her ear and murmur in a low voice, "Yier, was it exciting?"

Reader's guide: A sweet romance. The male lead is gentle in appearance but strong at heart, a hidden wolf in sheep's clothing. Expect possessive pursuit and a groveling redemption arc.

Theme: A life of hard work and perseverance is the best kind of life.