My Beloved, You Have Led Me Astray

Qingqing finds a bloodied "vagrant" being hunted down right outside her home.

Once he has cleaned up, the vagrant turns out to be a beautiful young man.

He calls himself Xiu Yan. Qingqing thinks she's struck gold, and when she hears that he is "adrift in the world" and "from a life of pleasure," pity turns to love.

Xiu Yan has been lying to her all along. The real reason the Heir of Huai'an approached Qingqing was to make her his concubine and willingly use her as a medicinal guide.

*

At the state banquet, the envoy from Wei chats and laughs pleasantly, but stares wolfishly at the beautiful concubine beside the Heir of Huai'an, even bluntly asking for her and offering two cities in return.

The Heir of Huai'an replies, "Qingqing is also someone I love. Please treat her with care."

With no title or status, Qingqing stays by Xie Lü's side. The heir dotes on her and loves her, but refuses to make their relationship public.

Even the heir's beloved maid can bully and humiliate her with impunity.

At last, Qingqing despairs. She gives her heart and soul for him, but even the hardest stone cannot be warmed.

She gave her whole heart to the wrong man, and her body feels as if it has fallen into an icy abyss.

Looking at the ethereal heir who had so casually given her away, Qingqing laughs madly:

"I sever our ties. We will never meet again in this life!"

*

Two years later, snow falls thick and fast.

Xie Lü, having slain his enemy, collapses in a pool of blood, barely able to stand. He turns his sword toward his own chest. Qingqing, I have finally avenged you. I'm coming to join you now.

A splendid carriage drawn by fine horses approaches. Its curtains lift, revealing a lovely woman with an elegant coiffure, smiling as she speaks.

Qingqing glances over lightly, her expression unconcerned.

"...Qingqing?"

Xie Lü cannot believe that the beloved wife who died on the day she arrived in Wei has appeared before him once more. His mind erupts as if heaven and earth have collapsed.

"You must have mistaken me for someone else, Your Highness."

Qingqing smiles gently, while the child in her arms curiously peeks out.

"I am not your lowly concubine, Your Highness. I am the Princess Zhaoyang of Wei."

Reader's Guide:

1. The leads are each other's one and only, and this is a one-on-one romance.

2. The male lead goes off the rails after the heroine fakes her death.

3. A melodramatic pregnancy-and-escape plot, followed by a long pursuit to win back his wife. The male lead suffers greatly in the later part.

4. The world is divided into three kingdoms, in a setting reminiscent of the Three Kingdoms. Everything else is fictional, so please don't look for historical counterparts in this imaginary world. You won't find any.

Preview of Dreaming with Begonias:

Everyone knows that Lady Wanfú and the young emperor Yuan Su are childhood friends and mortal enemies. They can't stand each other and fly into a murderous rage whenever they meet.

But no one knows that they share a bed in their dreams every night, making love in a passionate frenzy.

In their dreams, the young emperor is handsome and mature, gentle and sensual. Chi Zhaoying adores him.

In their dreams, Wanfú is graceful and sweet, charming and clingy. Yuan Su is intoxicated by her.

When they wake and meet in the daytime, they still try to kill each other.

He ruins her marriage prospects, and she destroys his reputation.

*

Yuan Su has been having that strange dream for a long time.

In the dream, Wanfú is his wife, and every day they make love as if their lives depend on it.

Yuan Su is horrified. The deepest secret the young man has buried in his heart cannot be hidden from the dreams that haunt him at night.

He doesn't hate Lady Wanfú. He has always desired her, secretly and shamefully.

The dream of his past life becomes clearer little by little.

In her previous life, she loved another man and married the Marquis of Huaiyang. Later, her husband grew tired of her and joined forces with his beloved concubine to poison her.

Yuan Su flew into a rage, killed the marquis, and seized his minister's wife, earning the world's scorn. He stayed with her for three years, but in the end, he still couldn't keep her.

In this life, Yuan Su is determined not to let her leave again. He will act first and ruin her marriage prospects.

Who knew that the drunken young lady would already have fallen into his arms, all tenderness and affection? "Brother Su is the best..."

1. The leads are each other's one and only. Both have been reborn, and the romance is sweet with a hint of tartness.

2. From mortal enemies to mutual devotion. A childhood sweetheart beats a sudden rival.

3. Timeline: In their previous life, the heroine married a scumbag. Later, his concubine poisoned her, leaving her with only three years to live. The male lead forcibly claimed her, and over the three years they spent together, she fell in love with him. After she died, she was reborn.

4. The story begins in the timeline after rebirth, with dreams and reality running in parallel. The dreams feature the melodramatic forbidden romance of an emperor taking his minister's wife, while reality features childhood friends bickering like immature kids.

Theme: The ideal of life is to live an ideal life.