The Second Madam

Novel Blurb: When Li Su heard the eunuch report that the Second Lady was going to jump from the city wall, he did not take it very seriously. Wang Er had always been spoiled and willful, throwing tantrums and making a scene over everything. He assumed this time would be no different, so he kept writing with the imperial brush and replied without even looking up, "Leave her alone." But just after he had finished reviewing half a basket of memorials, the chief palace eunuch came tumbling in to report that the Second Lady had jumped. This time, Li Su came tumbling out himself. When he finally saw the small figure lying beneath the city wall in the distance, he could no longer stand. His knees gave way as he fell to the ground, and his arms were too weak to support his body as he tried to crawl forward. Though Wang Er was the second child in her family, Wang Er was not her real name. It was a spiteful joke the emperor had made in a fit of anger during an argument with her. But an emperor's words could not be taken back, and the title Second Lady became a lifelong humiliation. She had once had a graceful, lovely name: Wang Chengrou. Before she jumped, Wang Chengrou had felt excited and exhilarated. At last, she had reached the day when she no longer had to live for others. Her mother had been bedridden for two years and passed away last month. Her brother and sister-in-law had boarded a ship bound for the outer seas. Her personal maid had married a border general known as a god of war, giving her someone powerful to rely on. With the people she cared about gone, there was no one left in this world for Wang Er to worry about. Over the years, Li Su had worn away her armor, her pride, her sharpness, and her confidence. Only after every fantasy and hope she had ever held for him had been shattered did he begin using her relatives to threaten her, forcing her to treat him as she had before. Rather than live in misery, powerless to change her circumstances, she would be better off leaving this world. If she had another life, she would never live as she had in this one. She would choose a different way to live. Note: She jumps from the start, then is reborn. My new historical romance, Palace in Peril, is now updating. One-line premise: An utterly ruthless emperor seizes the woman he desires and keeps her by force. When he finds her married to another man, he goes even more mad with obsession. Blurb: Wu Ye, founding emperor of the Dayu Dynasty, and Empress Zhang Xian were childhood sweethearts. During her first year as empress, Zhang Xian learned well enough that Wu Ye not only did not love her, but also looked down on her common, streetwise ways. In the second year of the Kaichu reign, the empress presented the emperor with a letter confessing her faults and asked to be deposed and sent out of the palace. To the young new emperor, who possessed the entire realm and everything in it, this was nothing short of a provocation. The emperor granted only half of Zhang Xian's wish. He stripped her of her title and demoted her to a commoner, then divorced her, but he would not let her leave the palace. Instead, he kept her there as a servant. By then, Zhang Xian knew she had married the wrong man, but she had never imagined Wu Ye would disregard their past feelings and be so heartless and cold. Still, she had substantial savings. During her year as empress, she had always treated others kindly and won over many female officials and consorts. She only needed to endure for five years, and then she could leave the palace without trouble. But things did not go as she hoped. In her first year as a palace maid, the female official who could have protected her was transferred away, while the consort who had been willing to take her into her own quarters was demoted and could no longer protect herself. In her second year as a palace maid, she was transferred to Yuanlong Hall, where the emperor lived, and had to endure Wu Ye's unpredictable moods. She could bear that, but what Zhang Xian could not accept was the emperor forcing her to spend the night there. She resisted. "Your Majesty and I are already divorced. Besides our master-servant relationship, there is nothing between us." Wu Ye said, "You know we're master and servant, then. Whatever your master tells you to do, you must do." In the third year, the emperor stopped giving her the birth-control medicine he had prescribed. Desperate, Zhang Xian decided to risk everything and escape, even if it cost her life. She succeeded, but only for two years. After finishing Palace in Peril, my next historical romance in the same vein will be titled A Complete Mess. Blurb: Blurb One, from the heroine's perspective: On the day the Prince of Zhao's household held a wedding to take a second wife, his first wife, who had already lost his favor, lay on her sickbed with little time left to live. Hearing the commotion outside, Li Yuan opened her vacant eyes and asked, "What's all that noise? It's so loud." Her vision was blurred, and she could see less and less. It probably wouldn't be long before she went completely blind. The maid serving her was not devoted to her. She only hoped Li Yuan would die soon so she could escape the North Terrace, which was like an ice cellar. So she exaggerated a little as she said, "Today is the joyous occasion of our prince marrying the Duke's third daughter. Of course it's lively outside. Princess, please bear with it. I wouldn't dare go out and invite trouble at a time like this." So it was today. She would not even live long enough to see him again. She had thought she might get to see Wang Lingyin once more before she died. They had not seen each other in a long time. The last time had been when she learned he had personally executed her father and brother, and she had tried to die with him. She wanted to see him not because she was jealous or could not bear to let him go, but because the stewardess had taken the maid who had served her since childhood away for punishment, and Li Yuan did not know what had become of her. She wanted to ask him, since she was about to die, to show mercy and give her maid a good future. The light before her grew dimmer and dimmer. At first, she had been grateful that her eyes could no longer make out much, because she would not have to look at Wang Lingyin's loathsome face when he came. She was afraid that seeing him would stir up her resentment and offend him again, ruining her chance to plead for her maid. But now, it did not matter. She might not make it through the night, and he would never come to the wretched North Terrace on his wedding night to see someone as useless as her, who no longer had any value to him. The clanging and drumming outside grew louder and more festive. At last, Li Yuan's vision went completely black. A bone-deep chill made her shiver. Trembling, she summoned the last of her strength and asked the maid whether she had lit a fire. No one answered. If someone had told her three years ago that she would die alone and destitute on a winter night, discarded like a worn-out shoe, she would never have believed it. Back then, she had been the second daughter of the General's Residence. Her parents and elder brother were all alive, and no one dared look down on her or bully her. Suddenly, Li Yuan could see again, and she was no longer cold. She saw her father, mother, and elder brother. She ran toward them. At last, she could be with the family who cared for her most and loved her best in this world. When she opened her eyes again, everything before her was perfectly clear, bright, and vivid. It took her a while to understand: she had returned to the past, to three years ago. Blurb Two, from the hero's perspective: Wang Lingyin felt no guilt whatsoever about using Li Yuan. The Li family had grown too powerful and was acting without restraint. Even if his imperial brother had been softhearted and had not intended to wipe them out, Wang Lingyin would have been the blade that removed this threat on behalf of his brother and the imperial family. But it was Li Yuan's father and brother who had committed the crimes. She herself had done nothing wrong. She was also quite beautiful, sweet-tempered, and so attentive that he was entirely satisfied with her service. So when her whole family was convicted, he kept her and even preserved her position as his princess consort. It was nothing more than a handout he had casually bestowed. But the emperor and empress dowager felt he had been wronged, and they issued two decrees together, arranging a marriage for him. As the ever-loyal Prince of Zhao, he naturally had to accept. He thought that if Li Yuan were smart enough, she would understand her situation and sensibly endure everything, feeling grateful to him and treating him as her husband and master. Besides, a second wife was no big deal. It simply meant one more person living in the household. Everything else would stay the same. When he felt he had left her alone long enough and taught her enough of a lesson, he decided to visit her, expecting her to have given in and accepted her fate. But when he arrived, the North Terrace was pitch-black... People all over the city were saying that the Prince of Zhao had been bewitched ever since he married his new second wife. Every day, he performed rituals atop the highest building in his residence, the North Terrace. They said he had gone mad, refusing to eat or drink. One day, disaster finally struck. Everyone along the main streets of the capital saw flames soaring above the North Terrace. If you think this upcoming story sounds good, please add it to your library. Once it has enough saves, I'll start it as soon as I finish Palace in Peril. Thank you for your precious support. Theme: Break free from a wretched fate and fight for a whole new future.