Breaking Off a Golden Branch

The former Crown Prince was gentle and virtuous, dressed in white with a red beauty mark beneath his eye. He was the dream man of who knew how many women.

Wang Ning had also received his generous care.

It was a pity he died young.

That gave the son of an actor a chance to ascend the throne...

The inner chamber was dim, its warm fragrance almost overwhelming.

The imperial edict ordering the slaughter of over a thousand former Crown Prince loyalists only needed the imperial seal.

The new emperor, dressed in white, pressed closer with every step. A bead of blood welled from the beauty mark at the corner of his eye, freshly painted with cinnabar.

"You want to save them?"

The lives of over a thousand people, and her gravely ill aunt.

With nowhere left to run, Wang Ning could only give in. "I beg Your Majesty to show mercy!"

Watching as the golden branch willingly broke itself and meekly rested in his palm,

"How about this..." The new emperor's eyes darkened. His fingertips stroked her snowy neck, his voice mild yet leaving no room for argument.

"I will show as much mercy as you can bear, dear sister. How does that sound?"

An insecure, ruthless, mad wolf cub x a softhearted, emotionally obtuse fake phoenix

Pretend siblings, two years apart

The heroine was never entered in the imperial clan register, so they have no legal or blood ties

The hero willingly becomes her substitute + she runs, he pursues

One-on-one romance, happy ending

Coming soon: The Eastern Palace's Road to Regret. Click the author's name or the column at the upper right to view.

In her previous life, Ye Jianyao became the emperor's most favored female official.

She was clever and ambitious, and luck was on her side.

The greatest trouble she encountered in the palace was being set up by a eunuch who wanted to spend the night with her.

With no other choice, she played along and dragged the Crown Prince, Rong Heng, into it.

It should have been a secret known to no one else. But to her surprise, the pristine and dignified Crown Prince stopped her with utter seriousness. His ears were as red as peach blossoms in early spring, yet he didn't dare look at her. He simply placed a hairpin in her arms and promised, "I will marry no one but you."

Because of those four words, she became the sharpest blade on his path to the throne.

Yet on the very first day of the new emperor's reign, an arrow pierced her heart.

Given another chance at life, Ye Jianyao decided she had to find a different way to live.

*

Everyone knew female official Ye Jianyao was utterly heartless.

But Crown Prince Rong Heng knew she loved him desperately, even going so far as to scheme her way into his bed to help him dispel poison.

Given another chance, the Crown Prince watched her play hard to get, waiting for her to offer herself to him.

Instead, he watched the beauty take someone else's hand, her face full of girlish affection. "Your Highness, this is my betrothed."

Rong Heng went mad.

Theme: Don't be excessively insecure, and don't be excessively self-confident