A Second Marriage

Seeking favorites for my upcoming novel, After the Eastern Palace Sets Its Sights on Me~

[The Ex-Wife Can't Win Him Back]

Everyone said that before the disgraced marquis lost his mind, he had secured a bright future for his daughter, Ruan Que.

The Gu family of Lanjing was a powerful household, wealthy and resplendent.

The second son, Gu Tingkang, had come in third in the palace examinations. He was handsome and unmatched in charm.

A marriage like that was surely the kind of bright future everyone envied.

Ruan Que used to think so too. But after they married, Gu Tingkang deceived her, doing everything he could to humiliate, insult, and torment her. She gave way at every turn, believing the man she had married was a good one.

She never imagined that all her efforts to keep the peace would end with him carrying on an affair with another beauty. Even their engagement had been one enormous lie. Now that the truth was out, he was even determined not to spare her father.

Ruan Que was utterly despairing, battered and disheveled.

For three years, she had done everything she could for him, only to end up like this.

Without a word, she turned and walked out of the Gu residence, seeking the Asura everyone feared.

*

Si Chao stained the royal court of Western Di with blood. When he returned to the capital, everyone feared him.

The first time he saw Ruan Que, he was appalled.

With every meeting after that, he became more and more reckless...

When Ruan Que knelt trembling before his residence, raindrops ran down her slender neck and disappeared beneath her collar. Her posture was straight, her waist delicate, and she was already alluring enough to bewitch anyone. Yet she had no idea how captivating she was. Her small face was cool and composed.

He crouched down, his long fingers brushing her tender, dewy lips.

"What will you offer me, Ruan Ruan, to ask for my help?"

The next moment, he could no longer restrain himself and pulled her forcefully into his arms. No one knew how long he had been waiting for this moment.

*

Ruan Que left behind a divorce letter and disappeared.

Gu Tingkang was heartbroken. He searched the entire capital with his people, but found no trace of her. There was only one place he did not dare enter: the Prince Regent's residence.

The man living in that grand estate was his maternal uncle, Si Chao.

Si Chao was someone he could not afford to provoke.

He paced outside the walls day after day, regretting everything.

Until one night, two guards pinned him down in the pouring rain, and he witnessed a sight that pierced his heart...

Content warning:

The female lead is not a virgin, while the male lead is. Gu Tingkang fails to win back his wife, Si Chao becomes the male lead. Happy ending.

Seeking favorites for my upcoming novel, After the Eastern Palace Sets Its Sights on Me~

Huo Muyin has a willowy waist and is the most beautiful woman in the world.

Everyone says she is born noble. The Empress Dowager has even chosen her to become a Noble Consort and bring good fortune to the emperor. If he wakes up, she is sure to enjoy endless wealth and favor.

But Huo Muyin, reborn, knows there will be no wealth or favor. The Great Sheng dynasty is on the verge of collapse, and the imperial palace will become a battlefield littered with corpses. Her own fate will be even more horrific.

In her previous life, the palace called "Hiding the Light of Heaven" was built just for her, and heavy copper locks were fitted to its gates. She would never forget the shadows cast by the candlelight, or Bo Xuan looking down at her with a gentle yet cruel smile. "Are you going to run again?"

Run again?

Of course she would. Only a fool wouldn't.

But the moment she left the palace, a dagger pierced her through the back.

Reborn, Huo Muyin was determined not to repeat her past mistakes.

*

Bo Xuan is the crown prince. He has a peerlessly handsome face and seems like a man of serene elegance and quiet virtue.

Only Huo Muyin knows that he is a madman, an Asura King in a rabbit's disguise. She has seen him kill people with a gentle smile, and watched him close in on her step by step, murmuring "Mother Consort."

The day Huo Muyin left the capital, fine snow drifted through the air.

Bo Xuan rode up on horseback, blade in hand, and blocked the palace gates. Frost clung to him, blood dripped from him, and he stood alone, a solitary figure.

When he saw her, he gave a faint smile, the wounded look in his shadowed eyes impossible to hide.

"Having fun?"

"How dare he compete with me?"

"Sister, are you still going with him?"

Fresh blood streaked Bo Xuan's pale face.

He lowered his head and kissed the corner of Huo Muyin's lips, his voice hoarse and soft. "It's fine if you don't want to protect me, but you are not allowed to leave."

Everyone thought Huo Muyin would die in the crown prince's gilded cage. They never expected the Great Sheng dynasty to change hands and for her to become the favored one of a new, unrestrained emperor, even more radiant and alluring than before.

Content warnings:

1. Older woman/younger man romance. The female lead is two years older. Both leads are virgins. One-on-one romance.

2. The story has many original worldbuilding details. If that bothers you, don't read.

Recommended friend's novel:

After Madam Passed Away by Jin Fei Xi Bi

Chen Wanzhao was married to Chu Zheng for ten years. The years flew by, and it was only when she was dying that she realized that aside from their two children, there seemed to be no affection between them.

At least he hadn't treated her badly. For ten years, she had remained the only mistress of the Pingyang Marquis household. Even when they argued, Chu Zheng was usually the one who lost.

So when it came to leaving this world, Chen Wanzhao felt a little reluctance, but had no lingering attachment.

So...

Why had she been reborn as Chu Zheng, that bastard?

Theme: When your back is against the wall, you have to fight for change.