The Cold Chief Councilor's Crematorium: A True Account

[Main story complete, extra chapters being updated] My next book, Grassland Pearl (coercive romance), is in my collection. Please support it!

Blurb:

Wei Yan, the legitimate daughter of a marquis's household, had loved her distant cousin Jiang Tong, who lived with her family, ever since she was a child. When she grew up, she was willing to leave behind the splendor of the capital and marry him, following him all the way to Hangzhou to become his wife while he served in the army.

She was certain she had judged him correctly. Jiang Tong had great ambitions and exceptional literary talent. He was sure to earn distinction and make a name for himself.

But things did not go as she expected. On their wedding night, Jiang Tong said coldly, "I know my family is beneath yours, and that I am unworthy of you. From now on, I can only ask you to lower yourself to accept me." Then he left the bridal chamber.

She had no idea how she'd offended him. From then on, she became increasingly careful, looking after him and tending to his every need. He paid no attention to her and remained as distant as ever.

For three years of marriage, he slept on the couch and she slept in the bed. He never so much as touched her, yet she foolishly believed it was because he was single-mindedly pursuing his ambitions and had no time for romance.

Until one day, while boating on the lake, she saw him standing by a broken bridge, holding another beautiful, slender woman in his arms.

Only then did she finally understand that he did not love her at all.

So she left a letter of divorce and returned to the capital.

Later, Jiang Tong became the most sought-after new scholar in the capital. He rose to become a third-rank Hanlin academician and eventually the chief minister, a man above all others. Yet he had lost forever the woman who had once cherished him like a precious jewel.

They stood far apart in a corridor, gazing at each other. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with her husband by her side.

Only then did he realize that all the tenderness he had never given her was now being given to her by someone else.

Content warning: Very old-school, very old-school, very old-school! The male lead has serious character issues early on. Don't read if that's not for you! There will be two versions of the ending.

After careful consideration for various reasons, I've decided to close the comments. I hope you'll understand. A deep bow of thanks once again~

Next up: Grassland Pearl. Please add it to your favorites, everyone!

[Size-difference coercive romance warning, wish-fulfillment story with a heroine adored by everyone, and a battlefield of rivalrous grassland brothers]

Si Lu was once the most beautiful woman in the capital. But when her family fell from favor, she was sent to the palace as a servant.

The Empress Dowager was taken with her beauty and ordered her to take Princess Zhaole's place in a political marriage on the grasslands.

The Northern Rong royal court had lasted for nine generations. The tribes constantly plotted against one another, and the aging Khan had seven princes, all eyeing the throne.

On her first day at court, Si Lu entered the hall in a flowing, colorful gown and left every prince spellbound.

Then the old Khan died suddenly without explanation, leaving the court leaderless as the tribes fought for power.

Si Lu became the Central Plains pearl coveted by all.

In the midst of the chaos, Si Lu was always plotting her escape back to the Central Plains.

But she had barely escaped the city when she fell into the hands of a rebel army. Their brutish chieftain called her a goddess and carried her into his tent, intent on having his way with her. Si Lu struggled in vain and fell into despair, only for a long blade to pierce the chieftain's chest.

As the chieftain fell, he revealed the tall, heroic man behind him. The man held a bloodstained blade, his handsome, striking face and iron-hard chest partly exposed. He gazed at her with a smile, his eyes openly predatory and possessive:

"Goddess of the Central Plains, you made me search far and wide."

Si Lu recognized her rescuer: the fifth prince of the royal court, now called the Wolf King of the Grasslands, Huyan Haimo.

He walked toward her step by step, his towering frame oppressive.

"I am the new king now. By Northern Rong custom, I may inherit everything from the previous king."

"Including you."

His obsession with her began at first sight and became the demon that haunted him for a lifetime.

From now on, she would never escape.

Content warning: The male lead is the coercive-romance type, not a perfect gentleman. Don't read if that's not for you.

Thesis: No matter what adversity you face, you must meet it head-on.