A Concubine's Survival Guide

[The full story is complete. It costs just half a cup of milk tea. Thanks for supporting the official release! My upcoming story, Concubine's Schemes, opens on October 14. Add it to your favorites~] Story blurb: [The Male Lead] Xue Jingqian, the Marquis's heir, is a great general and the only younger brother of the current Empress. He is well past twenty and still unmarried. The eligible daughters of prominent families in the capital have racked their brains trying to arrange chance encounters and become the heir's wife, but every attempt has failed. Until the daughter of a low-status merchant, forced to come to the capital, moved into the Marquis of Chengping's residence. Then everyone noticed that the upright, self-controlled heir always had a beautiful young concubine by his side. He fussed over her constantly and doted on her as if she were his most precious treasure. Fortunately, men are always chasing after something new. Before long, word spread that the concubine had lost the heir's favor due to her improper behavior. The Empress personally sent her out of the residence to make room for the future wife, and the general didn't say a word in protest. It was a sad sight. [The Female Lead] Cheng Roujia was forced to move into the Marquis of Chengping's residence. But becoming Xue Jingqian's concubine was entirely her own choice. The reason was simple: a secondary wife would have to stay in the marquis's residence for the rest of her life, while a concubine had a chance to make a clean getaway. With the heir's wife about to move in and the heir having ignored her for months, she clapped her hands. It was time to leave after a job well done. So she happily asked to leave the residence and went back to her family in full view of everyone. Huh? Why are you here, General? As the saying goes, a guest who comes from afar should go right back where he came from. Content warnings: 1. The male and female leads are exclusive to each other, and both are virgins. The male lead is patriarchal in the early chapters, but he is not a typical scumbag. 2. I don't accept calling the female lead a homewrecker. 3. The story is set in a fictional world with no historical research. Upcoming story, Concubine's Schemes: The story opens at 7 p.m. on October 14. Please add it to your favorites~ Before she turned sixteen, Zhuang Qingrao wished to marry a well-read young shopkeeper and escape her family's generations of servitude. After she turned sixteen, her masters graciously allowed the young shopkeeper to marry another senior maid. Fourth Miss Chen, whom Qingrao had served faithfully, looked at her gently and consoled her: "Men can't be trusted. Qingrao, you need to make something of yourself and find a good future." Later, Qingrao was sent in a small sedan chair to the household of Fourth Miss's brother-in-law, the British Duke, a descendant of the former emperor. She became one of his insignificant concubines. By chance, Qingrao discovered that Fourth Miss had deliberately sabotaged her engagement. Fourth Miss had done it so she could take the place of her dying elder sister and marry the British Duke as his second wife. Looking at the beauty in the bronze mirror, her lips as red as cinnabar, Qingrao decided she wouldn't let down her mistress's expectations. She would make even more of herself. She just seemed to have made a little too much of herself. In the driving snow, Chen Yuewei waited outside the Imperial Study for an hour, begging her husband to spare the Chen family. The door creaked open. The favored Imperial Consort Zhuang emerged, draped in an exquisite jade-colored cloak embroidered with gold. Her familiar face no longer held any trace of deference or caution. She looked down at Chen Yuewei, a defiant smile blooming on her beautiful face. "My lady, how is it that you don't understand the very lesson you taught me?" Men can't be trusted. Especially a man whose heart belongs entirely to another woman. Reading guide: 1. Major warning: The male lead is not a virgin, while the female lead is. She will not fall in love with him. He is a direct descendant of the imperial clan, a typical member of the feudal aristocracy, and has a wife and concubines. Later, he will love only the female lead. Includes a doting-on-the-concubine-and-neglecting-the-wife plotline. 2. Contains lots of household and palace intrigue. 3. The female lead will be elevated to primary wife. The leads have a ten-year age gap. Theme: Even in adversity, keep the will to turn your life around.