The Twin Jade Pendants Rise with the Moon

[Saintly Emperor's Unhinged Older Brother x Straightforward Sweet Girl x Pure-Love Wolfdog Younger Brother] Chi Chi was a palace candidate who failed to be selected, a castoff her family had never thought much of. Chi Chi was perfectly content to lie flat. She had no ambitions, anyway. Her greatest wish was to marry that palace guard. He was gentle by nature and treated her wonderfully. He even made her soup dumplings to eat. The day they confessed their feelings to each other, she was so happy she couldn't sleep all night. She counted on her fingers how long it would be until she could marry him, so she could eat soup dumplings every day. Who knew that when she turned around, she would see him in splendid robes and a jade belt, with a lovely woman at his side, laughing and chatting with a group of wealthy young wastrels “How could I possibly marry a palace maid?” “I was only amusing myself by stringing her along.” The conspicuous jade pendant revealed his identity. What kind of lowly guard was he? He was none other than the current emperor's own younger brother, His Highness the Prince of Guangling. That night, cold rain fell like silk. She ran after him in tears, but he didn't even spare her a glance. His black boot ground down on her finger bones, and an indifferent smile played at his lips A mere lowborn slave, and she dares dream of becoming a princess consort? At that moment, Chi Chi finally gave up hope. * At the later empress-installation ceremony, His Highness the lofty Prince of Guangling knelt at her feet, gazing at her exquisite phoenix shoes, clamping down hard on every emotion in his eyes. After three bows and nine kowtows, he called to her in a hoarse voice: “Sister-in-law.” - No matter how much time passed, Chi Chi would always remember the day she was installed as empress. The young emperor looked at her with a gentle smile, but as he drew close, he clasped her hand and whispered in her ear: “If the empress looks at the Prince of Guangling one more time, I will make his life my wedding gift to us.” #Which is rarer: a saint's selfish love or a demon's true heart?# ★Reader's Guide ① Both leads are each other's only partners and first loves. Old-school Mary Sue, amateur prose, male rivalry. The setting is entirely fictional and does not represent real history, so please don't overanalyze it. ② Twin brothers mistaken for each other. ③ The male lead is the older brother, the emperor. Happy ending: he dismisses the harem by ennobling the innocent consorts as county ladies, granting them the right to choose their own husbands. ④ Cover art by @Yu Yu Qing. ⑤ Regarding the heroine giving her younger brother “the Jade Guanyin”: it's a little clue, explained later. - Coming soon: After Deceiving the Untouchable Female lead and male lead both have past partners / Wei-Jin setting / coercive love / a virtuous gentleman who turns dark and unhinged Tender, affectionate young widow vs. saintly, possessive man in power Blurb So Wang Guanling hated her. Xuxu only realized it belatedly. Wang Guanling was the eldest son of the Langya Wang clan, peerlessly refined and noble. Wherever he went, the people made way for him, and members of the aristocracy greeted him with the deference due to their elders. She had no family connections or inherited privilege, and made a living by burying the dead. When she saw a nobleman like him, she had to kneel by the roadside and cover her face with her sleeve, daring to look up only after his carriage had passed. Yet a woman like her saved him when he was gravely injured and had lost his memory, then deceived him for an entire year. It was a night of torrential rain when Wang Guanling collapsed outside her home. The gentleman was as handsome as spring blossoms and as graceful as moonlit snow. His bearing was extraordinary, but his expenses were staggering: a single garment was worth a hundred taels of gold. She had meant to get rid of this hot potato, but then he spoke, his voice clear and cool, so much like someone from her past. He said he had lost his memory and had nowhere to go. So she told a colossal lie: “We are husband and wife.” Whenever they made love, she covered her eyes with cloth, wanting only to hear his voice, clear as fresh snow. And he always panted in her ear, telling her again and again that he loved her. - After Wang Guanling returned home, rumors swirled around them. The eldest son of the Langya Wang clan, once so skilled at wielding power and plotting schemes, now seemed aloof to the very bone. She brought him tea, and he took it and set it aside without looking at her hands once. She spoke, and he answered “Mm” before saying nothing more. On the rare occasions their eyes met, she saw no tenderness in his gaze, only a cold scrutiny, as if he were sizing up a stranger. “The eldest young master must have tired of that woman from a commoner family,” everyone said. At first, she didn't believe it. Until one night, when she took the initiative to approach him and he silently pushed her away. He stood beneath the lamplight, his face illuminated by the candle flame: handsome, composed, with not a trace of his former infatuation in his eyes. He said only, “How could I, Wang Guanling, ever take a woman like you as my wife?” - The Wang clan discovered that she had used witchcraft to bewitch their lord and alter his memories. They wanted her beaten to death. Xuxu's hands and feet were shackled as she knelt in the hall. The entire Langya Wang clan surrounded her, filled with fury. Blades glinted, and the air was bitterly cold. Wang Guanling sat in the seat of honor, looking down at it all without sorrow or joy, like a god or Buddha. Only when the clan elders asked him how she should be dealt with did he speak. His voice held no inflection: “Since she meant no harm, there is no need to torture her. Give her a courtyard and provide her with fine clothes and good food. Don't let outsiders say the Wang clan is cruel.” Everyone said the eldest young master was benevolent and impartial. Yet it was precisely this cold, bone-deep lack of feeling that let her see him clearly for the first time. She realized she could no longer feel the possessive desire she once had. Xuxu left a letter of apology and quietly departed. - War engulfed Zhongzhou, and Xuxu fled with a large group of refugees. On the road, she met a man. He resembled her late husband even more than Wang Guanling did. His looks, voice, and expression were all exactly the same. She didn't dare make another mistake. But this time, he recognized her first, choking out her name: “Xuxu, I've missed you so much.” Reunited as husband and wife, they felt as if a lifetime had passed. Overcome with joy, she cried, thinking that Heaven had not treated her unfairly. They planned to revisit their old home. But halfway there, clouds of dust rose ahead. The Wang clan's banners snapped in the wind, and a sea of carriages blocked their way. That cold, formidable, untouchable nobleman, clad in light furs with his belt loosely fastened, stepped out of his carriage and walked toward them. - From then on, Wang Guanling was behind her every night. The cold-hearted saint slid his slender, jade-smooth hands beneath her clothes, playing with her as he pleased, allowing no refusal. When he had had his fill, he coaxed her into taking up a brush and drawing his portrait: his brows, eyes, nose, and lips, every detail had to be perfect. Every mistake earned her another hour of punishment. Afterward, he gathered the flushed woman in his arms and held her tight, his voice tender and low: “Xuxu, deceive me one more time. Tell me you're my wife.” - To Wang Guanling, hatred was the most potent aphrodisiac. Xuxu was the only medicine that could draw it out. Theme: Never trample on another person's sincere feelings.