The full story is already saved in my drafts. Updates at 6 p.m. The author is reliable and won't abandon the story. Your collection is the author's greatest motivation! (Transforming into a writing machine! A perpetual motion machine! Updating like crazy for my readers!)
Su Naiqi's father died taking a blade meant for Marquis Shangguan Changyong, and her mother took her own life in grief, leaving her all alone.
The marquis took her into his household and arranged for her to be betrothed to his eldest legitimate son, Ren Yingcheng. But after he died in battle, no one in the Ren family ever mentioned the engagement again.
Su Naiqi was cautious and never entertained any foolish hopes. She only waited until she came of age, when she could take her dowry and leave the Ren household without getting in the old madam's way.
But the heir, Ren Yingcheng, began looking at her in an increasingly strange way...
In a hurry, she chose a husband: Wen Xun, a successful candidate in this year's imperial examinations. His family was simple, his character upright, and he was about to leave the capital to take up the post of county magistrate in Shangxin County.
With all the proper betrothal gifts and rites, she married Wen Xun.
On their wedding night, beneath the red candles, a jade ruyi lifted the red veil from her face...
There stood Ren Yingcheng in red, tall and elegant, his eyes and brows brimming with certainty that she would be his.
Everyone said that the Ren family treated their adopted daughter, Su, with great care. They had found her husband a post in the capital and bought the couple a residence near the marquis's mansion so she could be looked after.
Who could have known that the much-praised brother Ren Yingcheng would visit the Wen residence every night and keep Su Naiqi as his mistress?
*
Wen Xun divorced Su Naiqi, and she returned to the Ren household as Miss Su, once again dependent on others.
But Ren Yingcheng no longer needed to pretend. He kept her imprisoned at his side, holding her as they slept night after night.
Su Naiqi seized an opportunity to escape. Caught in a landslide, she struck her head on a rock and lost her sight. She then met Lu Shenshi, a reclusive miracle-working doctor.
He said he often helped the injured, which was why he always smelled of blood.
He said her eyes would be difficult to treat, and searched everywhere for rare medicines for her...
He was also refined and eloquent, and Su Naiqi's heart began to stir. The two of them exchanged vows.
But in bed, he was rough and discourteous, which displeased her.
By day, however, he was gentle, attentive, and considerate.
*
Lu Shenshi, the commanding officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was a ruthless killer, yet a peerlessly beautiful woman was hidden away in his residence.
When Marquis Ren Yingcheng raided Lu Shenshi's residence in Jiangnan, boxes upon boxes of gold, silver, jewels, fine silks, and satin filled the beautiful woman's courtyard.
Meanwhile, Wen Lanxi, Prince of Fuling, who had been biding his time in the palace, learned that Madam Lu was pregnant. He left the palace himself to demand her from Ren Yingcheng...
In the Lu residence, the sheltered madam, her eyes covered in silk, heard the clash of swords and turned toward the sound with a bright smile. "Has my husband returned?"
The long sword fell from Ren Yingcheng's hand. The woman he had searched for across the world was right before his eyes.
Marquis Ren Yingcheng, who takes what he wants by force; Commanding Officer Lu Shenshi, a hypocrite; and Prince Wen Lanxi of Fuling, heartless and unfaithful.
So Su Naiqi punishes all of them. She's fragile at first, but has a growth arc.
Note: The heroine isn't a virgin, but the men are. There are scenes where the men suffer. The heroine gains power and status later on. None of the three men are guaranteed to survive, so choose your favorite with care.
The heroine has it rough at first, but she'll stand tall later on!
Theme: Find a path that's right for you, and stick to it.
