Spring Chill in the Lonely Inn

Please add my upcoming novel, After Being Forced to Marry a Disabled Prince, to your reading list!

Yun Qingzi is the illegitimate daughter of the Grand Secretary's household. She is beautiful and gentle, but has few family ties and is not favored.

In the depths of that gloomy whirlpool, her greatest wish is to marry a refined gentleman and live a peaceful life.

Unfortunately, fate has other plans. She ends up entangled with the famous heir to a princely title in the capital.

Yun Qingzi doesn't want much to do with him, but somehow they keep crossing paths. Even more strangely, whenever she runs into him, something goes wrong. Before long, she starts to look at the heir with suspicion.

She injures her hand playing polo, loses things while shopping, and even gets scolded when she goes home after running into him at a temple...

Yun Qingzi: Could he really be my jinx?

-

Hua Mujin, the heir to Prince Yi, has loved someone since he was a child. No one knows who.

Everyone says he and the third daughter of the Yun family are ill-matched by birth. He refuses to believe in such things and tests the waters bit by bit, but whenever he takes a step forward, she takes one back.

One day, someone sees through his feelings. His ears turn red, but he denies it outright: "I don't like her."

As luck would have it, Yun Qingzi hears him.

She turns around and agrees to the marriage arranged for her by the Yun family's matriarch.

But just before she leaves, she sees Hua Mujin waiting at the gate with betrothal gifts.

When he sees her, Hua Mujin gives an awkward cough. "A Jing, I'm here to ask for your hand..."

Yun Qingzi only smiles. "I'm going on a matchmaking date. Please step aside, Your Highness."

--

Reading Guide

1. A slow and steady story. The main text leans toward serious drama, while the blurb has a lighter tone.

2. Set in an entirely fictional world. The clothing is based on the Song Dynasty, without distinguishing between north and south. The names, era names, locations, and dynasty are all fictional.

3. The leads have feelings for each other and choose to meet halfway.

The cover background is used with permission. Artist: Yuse.

Blurb for the upcoming novel:

Qiu Ying is the legitimate daughter of the Qiu family, who disappeared twelve years ago. Just after coming down from the mountain, before she can put her medical skills to use, she is found and brought home to take the place of the fake heiress and marry the disabled Prince Ji Lin.

The disabled prince of the rumors is cruel and violent, moody and unpredictable, and disliked by the emperor. Every young lady in the capital avoids him, yet he is engaged to the Qiu family.

The fake heiress refuses, so Qiu Ying is forced to become the bride.

On their wedding night, Qiu Ying accidentally offends the prince. From then on, she spends every day walking on eggshells, afraid he'll suddenly fly into a rage and kill her.

But after spending day and night together, she realizes that although he is a man of few words and a cold disposition, he's actually quite reasonable.

So one day, Qiu Ying squats by the door and carefully asks him, "If I heal your legs, could you give me a divorce agreement?"

To her surprise, he not only agrees, but also gives her a large sum of gold.

Qiu Ying lands in a life of luxury. She spends the night making more pills for him, then buries herself in medical books, all so she can heal his legs as soon as possible.

Less than a year later, the prince's legs are almost healed, and her savings are about to fill a small storeroom. She slings her bundle over her shoulder and tries to leave, but someone blocks the doorway.

The man who usually wears a cold expression and never says a word is now sitting in his wheelchair, one hand gripping the door tightly as he stares at her with burning eyes. His tone is forceful, though a trace of guilt slips through: "You can't leave. Yuanyuan ate the divorce agreement, so it's no longer valid."

Qiu Ying: "...Huh?"

But Yuanyuan is just a bird.

*

Ji Lin lost his mother when he was young. Rumors in the palace say he brings death to his mother, and the emperor treats him as if he doesn't exist. He grows up enduring neglect and bullying.

At twelve, he is made a prince and given a residence outside the palace. At fifteen, someone sabotages him and cripples both his legs. He seeks out every renowned physician, but none can help him.

Then the new bride from the Qiu family, who was married off in another girl's place, says she can treat his illness and heal his legs in exchange for a divorce agreement.

Of course he agrees, though he plans to kill her once she cures him.

But when the day finally comes, he loses his nerve and refuses to hand over the divorce agreement.

Others don't understand. He remains composed. "I'm only pretending to keep her here. I have my own plans."

Theme: No matter how many hardships you face, there is someone in this world willing to get through them with you. Keep hope alive. Learn to love yourself first, then you can try loving someone else.