Sand in My Heart

My new novel, Dotting the Crimson Lips, is currently updating. The next novels, Magpie Bridge Immortal and Folding Green Plums, are listed on my author page. Please add them to your favorites! QVQ

--Synopsis--

At the Qionglin Banquet, Meng Hongqu, tipsy and bleary-eyed, looked at the person below the table. His eyes were nine-tenths like Xu Xicun's, and, as if possessed, she blurted out, "I wonder, top scholar, would you be willing to join my household as my prince consort?"

Lin Qingjun had been smiling as he politely declined the emperor's arranged marriage between himself and Princess Changzhao. He paused in surprise, then slowly answered, "Yes."

Everyone at the banquet drew in a sharp breath.

Who in the world didn't know that Princess Changping, Meng Hongqu, was wanton, arrogant, and domineering?

No matter how baffled everyone else was, the emperor settled this absurd marriage with a grand wave of his hand.

One was arrogant and domineering, the other was adept at currying favor. They were surely a perfect match.

Looking at the bright red wedding robe she wore, Meng Hongqu mocked herself inwardly.

In the end, this absurd marriage became a laughingstock in the eyes of the world.

"Do you truly think that marrying me means nothing but endless torment and wasted years?" Holding the letter of separation handwritten by Meng Hongqu, the usually composed top scholar lost control of his emotions for the first time.

"I never dared hope you would love me. You don't know that, to me, being granted the chance to get close to you was already the greatest blessing."

--Synopsis for the next novel, Spring Unfurls--

Qinghe followed her widowed mother to the Duke's estate after her mother remarried.

The estate looked splendid from the outside, but its inner household was a filthy place.

While her mother was alive, Qinghe could just about get by. After her mother's death, she was completely helpless, so she had no choice but to set her sights on Yu Anxing, the Duke's eldest legitimate son.

The heir to the Duke's estate, Yu Anxing, had a refined and upright nature. Taking pity on the wretched Qinghe, he looked after her in every way.

Qinghe proved herself worthy, working hard at music, chess, calligraphy, and painting until her talent became renowned. With her exceptionally beautiful looks, as soon as she came of age, suitors from across the capital were beating down her door.

Qinghe had chosen a husband she liked, and she was about to escape the Duke's estate, that pit of fire. But overnight, her stepmother changed her tune and decided to send her as a concubine to Prince Zhao, a lecher in his forties or fifties.

With no other options, Qinghe turned her attention back to Yu Anxing.

She secretly drugged him and dragged him into bed.

After that wild night, Yu Anxing married Qinghe out of a sense of responsibility.

After they married, they lived in harmony. Qinghe managed the household affairs well, and Yu Anxing was very pleased.

Until one day, he accidentally overheard Qinghe chatting privately with her close friends.

--"Yu Anxing is such a boring man. If I hadn't been desperate to protect myself at the time, why would I have chosen him?"

That night.

In the dim bed curtains, Yu Anxing lifted a hand and wiped away the tear at the corner of Qinghe's eye, settling accounts with her one word at a time.

Qinghe blinked her damp lashes and explained softly through her tears.

"Those were just words to fool them. Of course your wife has you in her heart."

Yu Anxing's smile was unreadable.

Liar.

But it didn't matter. She was already his. Besides, he had lied to her, too.

Yu Anxing raised a hand and gently pinched Qinghe's chin.

"You probably don't know that I was the one who came up with the idea of marrying you off to Prince Zhao."

Note: The male and female leads are not related by blood.

Theme: Everyone deserves to be loved