Becoming the Proper Wife in a Concubine's Quarters Novel

Upcoming: Fake Flirting with a Beautiful, Strong, and Wretched Prince

Blurb

Ji Chen was the most dazzling young gentleman in the capital. A year into their marriage, however, he rarely spent the night in Huo Jiuci's room, all because he had a delicate and charming maid by his side.

He often told Huo Jiuci, "I can give you a title, but nothing else."

Huo Jiuci thought that if she treated him well, one day he would see her. She never expected that no amount of warmth could melt a heart of stone.

One day, someone pushed Huo Jiuci into a pond, and she had a long dream. It turned out she was a supporting character in a storybook. The author kept rewriting her story, until in the end she became a villainess.

In the story, Ji Chen first promoted his maid to concubine, then to secondary wife. The two were inseparable all day long, while Huo Jiuci's position in the household steadily declined.

Later, her personal maid was crippled by Ji Chen for plotting against the secondary wife. Huo Jiuci tried every means to get revenge, only to end up disgraced and despised by everyone.

Huo Jiuci woke with a start. She was at her father-in-law's birthday banquet, holding an empty cup. If she remembered correctly, the wine in that cup would ruin her reputation.

Panicked, she ran straight to her own courtyard. Even if she had to kill herself, she wouldn't let anyone laugh at her.

The drug took effect along the way. She stumbled forward, gritting her teeth and holding on, only to run into a young man feeding the fish by the pond.

His body was cool to the touch, and she couldn't help leaning against him. "Save me, and I'll pay you anything..."

The man didn't push her away. His voice was clear and bright. "I don't need money. What I need is a crown princess."

At those three words, she came to her senses. "I-I beg your pardon, Your Highness. I didn't mean to disturb you. This commoner..."

"You can't leave." He caught hold of her and said seriously, "My price is a thousand gold pieces, but for you, I'd take a loss. But once you've claimed me, you can't change your mind."

"I don't want..."

"No. You asked for me, so you have to take me."

Several months later, the Crown Prince held his wedding. Ji Chen was invited to the palace, where he saw Huo Jiuci dressed in her phoenix crown and wedding robes. At that moment, he remembered the tender way she used to massage his shoulders, and his heart ached.

He asked her, "Why did you change your heart so quickly?"

Huo Jiuci sneered. "The Crown Prince is the little Daoist I knew. I treated you well because I mistook you for him. I might as well have spent the year I was married to you feeding a dog. Oh, and your marquis's household still owes me thirty thousand taels. Remember to pay it back soon."

* The female lead is one year older than the male lead. The second male lead gets a lot of page time early on.

Blurb for Fake Flirting with a Beautiful, Strong, and Wretched Prince:

The youngest daughter of the prime minister, Yan Guyu, is breathtakingly beautiful. Because her birth date is exceptionally auspicious, the emperor adopts her as his goddaughter.

One day, she hears a shocking story: long ago, the empress switched the child Consort Shu had just given birth to in order to seize the empress's position. She then sent that child to a fighting pit where nobles went for amusement.

That night, Yan Guyu dreams that the prince sent to the fighting pit ascends the throne and massacres the entire capital. To save the rest of the family, her father offers her up.

The young emperor sits high on the throne and mocks her. "Yan Wenjin sent me to the fighting pit. What about you? Do you want to send me to hell?" Before she can answer, he speaks again. "Fine. I'll give you that chance."

After entering the palace, she watches the young emperor's cruel methods day after day. Her headaches grow worse and worse, and before long, she dies.

When she wakes, Yan Guyu hurries to the fighting pit. She knows she can see the future, so what she dreamed must be true. The events of her dream are still a year away. There's still time to change his mind.

The young man has just been tortured. He's covered in blood, and his right cheek bears a brand. She feels conflicted, but she can understand why he acted as he did in her dream.

With the empress in the way, she can't get him out. All she can do is pay to have him as her playmate every day, acting out five parts sincerity as if they were ten, all so that one day he will repay her kindness.

Lu Jingze:

Before he had a name, he was just a bastard, a noble yet filthy bastard.

At seven, his birth mother, who despised him, abandoned him. He was then sold to a fighting pit. The real prince looked like him, so he was made to serve as his double.

Day after day, he came close to death. Day after day, he endured torture, gritting his teeth and desperately clinging to the hope of survival. Then Yan Guyu appeared. That day, she gently blew on the side of his face where he had been branded, then placed a piece of candy in his mouth.

Afterward, she visited him often and brought him candy. Those days became the only sweetness in his dark, twisted memories.

"Try to be more careful from now on. If you get hurt again, I'll worry about you."

"Don't hide. I like this side of your face, too."

"If you think you're dirty, then let me cleanse you, all right?"

He was an outcast, and afraid he wasn't worthy of her, so he took the real prince's identity and claimed the highest seat in the land. He never expected that she would eventually marry someone else.

On her wedding day, he barges into the bridal chamber with a sword. He offers it to her, holding the tip against his own chest, his eyes wild and obsessive. "The groom is dead. I killed him. If you hate me, then drive it in right here."

Theme: You must leave your little world to see a wider sky.