As the city was falling, Zhao Ranran was sent to the army to entertain the soldiers.
Plain and unattractive, she asked only to find a way to survive among the wolves and tigers.
By candlelight, the young deputy general had features as lovely as a painting, his starry eyes cold and bloodthirsty. After seeing her birthmark, he laughed in fury and said, "Get out."
But that very night, a mutiny broke out in the army. The unruly young warlord broke his leg, and only thanks to that plain woman did he narrowly survive.
*
"Sister, when I, Duan Zheng, rise to power one day, I'll make sure you live in luxury for the rest of your life!"
He was a fiend from the underworld, yet possessed beauty enough to rival anyone. With a few tricks, how could this ugly girl possibly not fall for him?!
Unexpectedly, when war broke out again, Zhao Ranran not only broke his hand, but ran off with a man in a scholar's robe and jade crown!
*
After peace returned to the land, she was bound by a trafficker and put up for sale, while Duan Zheng became a rising noble.
His youthful, triumphant peach-blossom eyes brimmed with amusement. He pointed at her casually and told his attendants, "Tie her behind my horse!"
She was taken back to the prince's residence, where she was tormented day after day.
Until she stood by the surging river and looked back at him.
Only then did she learn that even a fiend from the underworld could cry.
P.S. 1. The male lead is ruthless and vicious. He can't read at first, but he's a self-made hero and a whiz at housework! =-= He's extremely dependent on the female lead, says one thing but means another, and the romance is sweet with a touch of angst. The female lead falls for him very late; she's rational yet naive.
My ongoing novel next door: "The Hostage Slave" (woman disguised as a man, fictional Spring and Autumn setting):
On the day the King of Zhao surrendered, she was sent to Qin as a hostage in the guise of the crown prince.
At the banquet celebrating her country's surrender, Zhao Shu was shocked to discover that a lowly criminal slave she had once teased and pursued had transformed into the immensely powerful grandson of the King of Qin.
Back then, she had been a spoiled, arrogant wastrel and seemed to have done many things to humiliate him.
As the banquet grew merry, Ying Wujie blocked her path. His features were radiant as spring, but his gaze held undisguised malice:
"Three years ago, you kept me as a male concubine and favored minister. Today, I hold your life in my hands... But rest assured, my lord. I detest men who love men!"
She was punished by being sent to work in a quarry, served as a horse handler, and even waited tables in blue robes...
Though she was the one being broken down, the noble and refined grandson of the King of Qin grew ever more prone to anger and unrest.
Until Zhao Shu begged him for help in the dead of night to save her younger cousin. Before him, she cried as she undid the coarse clothes of a hostage slave.
When the candlelight revealed her secret, Ying Wujie's gaze darkened, like a beast that had found its prey.
At that moment, he suddenly understood that all these years, what he felt for Young Master Shu was not only resentment, but perhaps also desire.
From then on, by day she was the dignified and refined hostage prince of Zhao, but at night she was forced into thin gauze and silk, made to sit in the arms of Prince Ying Wujie as he treated her with disdain.
"Still looking down on me now? What does the Crown Prince of Zhao think of being held by a mayfly, a mere bug?" By lamplight, the man's features were so beautiful they seemed demonic. He smirked at her teasingly, then suddenly gripped her chin hard and murmured tenderly, "Call me big brother."
P.S. 1. The story begins with her country already fallen. Before the paywall, the female lead disguises herself as a man. After a straight man of a thousand years is beguiled into accepting love between men... the female lead returns to women's clothes.
2. Forced possession + the male lead pursuing his wife. Bittersweet, with angst and a happy ending.
3. Not a strong female lead; fundamentally a romance. The male lead is a bit of a jerk in the first half, and there is angst. Later, they both fall for each other. Neither lead is perfect; just accept that the male lead gets criticized =v=
Theme: Lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha.
The Blind Prince's Ugly Bride for Good Luck (The Beggar Empress)
The Thin Horse's Second Marriage
Disguised as a Man: Escaping the Fate of a Hostage in the Warring States
The Ugly Concubine
A Princess's Pursuit of a Monk
After the Capital Fell, the Coachman I Had Humiliated...
The Author Fills the Plot Hole with Their Own Body (Female-Dominated World)
The heroine is very arrogant... She thinks she can survive in troubled times... In fact, without the hero, she will be treated like a slut.
The writing is okay. Both the male and female protagonists have shortcomings. The female protagonist is a bit pretentious and likes to be smart. The male protagonist is love-savvy. He is not cruel when he should be cruel and is blindly cruel when he shouldn't be cruel. The two of them often have no words. It is enough to describe the love between the two in a few chapters. The front is full of the male protagonist trying to find sugar in the glass shards.
Ran Ran: I don't want you to die, but I can't live like this
This heroine is not only ugly, but also has a bad brain. How did she become a heroine? What kind of charm does she rely on?
This book is really in line with my taste. I like to read this kind of book where the male protagonist is very infatuated and tortured.
What will the author write next?!
Why is this so miserable??? Duan Zheng is one of the most miserable male protagonists. He has only lived a good life for a few days, and he has not yet truly been in love with the female protagonist.
The writing is really good! Although the name and plot are a bit ridiculous, I just couldn't stop! Can the author be faster? I still want to read it!
The heroine is really nice
What a piece of shit, I actually lost my memory.