Spring Branches Entwined

Next book: After Deceiving the Scion of a Powerful Family Please consider subscribing chapter by chapter. Thanks for supporting the official version. ◆The Unfeeling One Seduces ● The Clearheaded One Falls◆ Luo Wanzhi didn't want her family to send her to the Xie household as a concubine. She'd heard that the favored Ninth Young Master of the Xie family was especially tender toward women. If she could persuade him to put in a few good words for her to Old Madam Xie, she might be spared. But this spoiled young master had two sides to him. In public, he smiled warmly and seemed easy to charm. When she flirted with him in private, he watched like a spectator across the river. He was quite a handful. One rainy spring night, she leaned against Ninth Young Master's knee, weeping pitifully. “If you won't agree, Father will send me to Third Young Master Xie as a concubine...” He smiled and asked, “What's wrong with Third Young Master?” Luo Wanzhi replied as if it were obvious, “He's already so old. How could he be as young and vigorous as you, Ninth Young Master?” Ninth Young Master Xie gave her a knowing smile. Thinking everything was going smoothly, Luo Wanzhi suddenly discovered that the man before her was an impostor! Shocked, she immediately found a way to slip away and went looking for the real one. Ninth Young Master Xie was easy to persuade. In two or three days, he agreed to speak on her behalf and even invited her for tea. She accepted happily, only to unexpectedly see the impostor she'd long since cast aside sitting at the head of the table, his gaze dark, as Ninth Young Master Xie called him Third Brother. * As the heir of the Xie clan, Xie Yun was as flawless as jade, brilliant as a precious gem. He had held a high position from a young age and was the focus of everyone's attention. While traveling, he assumed his younger brother's identity for convenience, only to have a beautiful young woman pursue him. He'd assumed that the clever young lady was trying to marry her way into a better life. Who knew that once she discovered who he was, she would discard him like trash and avoid him like the plague? Then he would just have to catch her and ask her properly. How was he not young? How was he not vigorous? Third Young Master Xie: At first: I don't like this young lady. Then: How could I possibly like this young lady? Later: Hah, this young lady doesn't truly care about me. At last: I'll make this young lady fall in love with me. A-Wan: At first, she just wanted to find a powerful patron. Then she found out he was a hot potato she couldn't get rid of. And in the end, she somehow ended up able to throw her weight around in Jiankang, where nobles were everywhere? Reader's Guide: 1. One-on-one romance, happy ending, with a bittersweet mix of feelings. 2. [Not a strong, independent heroine] 3. Set in a fictional world inspired by the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties. Some details are fictionalized, so please don't overanalyze them. 4. The only official version is on Jinjiang Literature City. Next book: After Deceiving the Scion of a Powerful Family With nowhere left to turn, Shen Changpu went to the Wei family carrying a keepsake. She wanted to trade the life-saving favor she'd done for the eldest young master, Wei Qusui, for money to go to Jiankang and search for her relatives. The noble young master, as elegant as an orchid and a jade tree, looked at her with icy disdain. “How interesting. You dare try to fool me?” Shen Changpu never imagined that he would deny knowing her. Not only did he deny it, he ordered his people to forcibly remove the bracelet she'd brought as proof. Fortunately, the young master's kind stepmother saved her hand, and she was allowed to stay at the estate. The madam kindly warned her, “The eldest young master detests commoners. You should give up that unrealistic hope as soon as possible. Once we reach Jiankang, perhaps the Wei family can find you a suitable match.” Shen Changpu understood. The young master had lost his memory and thought she was a liar. Why would she embarrass herself by pursuing him? But Wei Qusui refused to let her go so easily. As the heir of the century-old Wei clan, Wei Qusui held a lofty position within his family. Even before the emperor, he was permitted to enter the palace wearing his sword and shoes. When the head of the Wei family was away, he had the final say. Shen Changpu feared he might cruelly throw her out or refuse to let her travel to Jiankang with the Wei family. So whenever Wei Qusui questioned her, she made up a story about how they'd fallen in love at first sight, grown even fonder at their second meeting, and promised themselves to each other at their third. She also put on a convincing show of someone whose heart had been broken, yet who understood that he had lost his memory. Shen Changpu admitted that she was speaking this way out of spite, deliberately making the immaculate young scion of a powerful family uncomfortable. After all, he looked down on commoners, and he looked down on her. She had truly saved his life, yet he had forgotten her kindness. Gradually, the disgust in the young master's eyes gave way to confusion, and then the confusion turned to inner turmoil. By day, he curled his lip and sneered, “Still lying to me? Have you thought about how you want to die?” Late at night, he sat quietly by her bed, tears slipping down his cheeks as he asked, “Why did you turn me into this?” Things seemed to be taking a strange turn. The young master seemed to have gone mad. Fortunately, she was about to be married off. / Shen Changpu didn't get married. She had clearly admitted in front of everyone that everything besides saving his life had been a lie. They had never been in love, much less promised themselves to each other. She had even sworn never to appear before him again. But Wei Qusui still wouldn't let her go. At her words, the veins stood out on his jade-white temples, and he looked so furious it was as if he wanted to kill her on the spot. / Wei Qusui inherited his ancestor's name and had always cultivated himself with discipline and conducted himself with integrity, rejecting all irrelevant emotions so that his ancestors' misdeeds would not be repeated. But ever since meeting Shen Changpu, many feelings that should never have existed had grown in the depths of his heart. Hatred, resentment, fury... Obsessive hatred. He hated her so much he wanted to tear her apart, skin and bones. Wear her skin, swallow her flesh, hold her bones in his arms. She had made him this strange, twisted person. It was only right that she stay by his side forever. / “Didn't I tell you I could never fall in love with you?” “Why did you say those things to tempt me?” ★ Upcoming: The Gentle Husband I Picked Up Is the Crown Prince ★ Marriage first, love later X Mutual devotion After both her parents died, Wen Zhuxin wanted to find a poor, kind-hearted man to marry into her family, so her vast estate wouldn't attract covetous relatives. During a heavy rainstorm, she rescued an injured young man while coming down the mountain. His clothes were plain, his eyes kind, and he had lost his memory. He was practically the perfect man Buddha had delivered right to her doorstep. After she cared for him devotedly, they were married not long afterward. After the wedding, Wen Zhuxin gave him a life of fine clothes and good food. He gave her the confidence to stand up to the uncles who wanted to devour her family's estate. She thought their life together was just fine, until one day her husband regained his memories and told her he was leaving. Only then did Wen Zhuxin learn that the husband she'd picked up was the crown prince himself. He had to return to his life as the exalted crown prince, and Wen Zhuxin couldn't stop him. But it wasn't until three days after he left that she realized the two of them still hadn't divorced. But she couldn't even imagine marrying the crown prince. Surely their marriage didn't count anymore. She tore up their marriage contract without asking him, planning to find another kind and gentle husband to marry into her family come spring. However, when matchmakers filled the Wen residence, a grand procession of wedding gifts from the capital filled Wen Zhuxin's front courtyard. At the same time, her husband, missing for an entire winter, was ushered in by a crowd. He glanced around, then smiled faintly. “What sort of man does Miss Wen want to marry into her family? Would someone like me be good enough?” Wen Zhuxin: !!! Her former (crossed out) crown prince husband caught her cheating on the spot. Is she going to die?! Bonus scene: When a merchant's daughter became the crown princess, people muttered jealously that the crown prince was merely noble and grateful, and couldn't possibly have any real affection for her. Wen Zhuxin agreed with them. But later, Wen Zhuxin rubbed her sore arms and emerged from the study on the verge of tears. She used to handle the accounts for one household. Now she had to handle the accounts of the entire empire. She used to deal with her uncles' covetous stares. Now she also had to fend off the crown prince's tender advances. Life was so hard. QAQ ★ Upcoming: No One Can Compare to His Goodness ★ A powerful man arrives out of nowhere + sweet romance + the second male lead gets burned to ashes Other completed works: A Breeze and the Bright Moon (Extra sweet!) Spring Waters Winding Around I've Long Since Stopped Loving You, You Bastard Emperor The Gentle Blade of the Black-Bellied Crown Prince The Crown Prince's Love-Chasing Notes The Heir's Wife Never Admits Defeat As If in My Heart Theme: If you are a towering tree, stand tall and touch the sky.