The Cousin's Daughter Is No Good Woman

[Complete manuscript on hand, updates at 8:00 a.m.] (Coming soon: A Yun (pseudo-siblings) and Heir’s Marriage (married first, love later). Please add them to your reading list!) The Second Madam of the Marquis’s household spent her life observing the rules. Yet after her illegitimate son passed the imperial exams, she brought home a niece with skin like jade and an ethereal beauty that stirred anyone who saw her to pity. The whole household speculated that perhaps the young lady was meant to use her seductive charms to block the illegitimate son’s road to success. Shang Qingyi played her part beautifully. Today, she admired flowers by moonlight with the Second Young Master. Tomorrow, she would keep him company by lamplight as he read. In less than a month, she had him swearing that he would marry no one but her. No one knew that, late at night when the dew was heavy, she would slip into the study of the heir from the Marquis’s eldest branch, Cen Yinian, a junior official at the Dali Court. Beneath the dim candlelight, she tugged lightly at his sleeve, her eyes rippling like spring water. “Elder Cousin… Qingyi has only ever had you in her heart.” * Qingyi had never been one to follow the rules. From the moment she entered this aristocratic household, where generations had held high office, she never intended to leave. A talented illegitimate son was certainly a fine prospect, but how could he compare to the heir, who wielded power and enjoyed the emperor’s favor? She repeatedly engineered chance encounters, carefully planning every scene, but he was as cold as a piece of jade, unmoved by her efforts. Even when she took a reckless chance and rose on tiptoe to kiss him, all she got was a cool glance from his icy eyes. If she couldn’t warm him up, she would find someone else. She had always been decisive, so she turned and sought out the Second Young Master again, her eyes alluring enough to steal a man’s soul. “Second Cousin, I prayed for this good-luck charm on my knees every step of the way. Qingyi… will be waiting for you to pass the exams.” Who could have guessed that just after she drifted away, she would be yanked into the shadow of a rock garden? The man’s voice was low and dangerous. “Shang Qingyi, after stirring up my feelings, you dare go and stir up someone else’s?” * Cen Yinian had solved countless cases. From the moment they met, he knew that beneath this cousin’s delicate exterior lay nothing but ambition and cunning. At first, he watched coldly as she made a clumsy show of throwing herself at him, feeling nothing but disdain. But later, he willingly stepped into her game. He let her flaunt his influence and power, watching her with nothing but gentle affection. I know you’re a creeping wisteria, so you may climb only me. Coming soon: A Yun As the daughter of a disgraced official, A Yun was lucky to be rescued by the family of Lu Xiaolangjun, a student whose studies her father had once guided. She became his younger sister and escaped death on the road to exile. Unfortunately, when she was young and knew no better, A Yun had teased the family’s highest-ranking “elder brother” relentlessly. Before he became her brother, he had never once been kind to her, making it clear just how much he loathed her. Living under someone else’s roof, A Yun knew her place and kept her head down, pretending she had turned over a new leaf and become sensible and well-behaved: When her elder brother wanted to practice calligraphy, she tracked down rare copybooks by famous masters. When he fell ill, she fussed over him and personally brewed his medicine. When he came top in the provincial exams, she racked her brains to praise his literary talent… In short, she absolutely could not let her elder brother find a single thing about her to dislike. When her elder brother passed the highest imperial exam, became famous throughout the capital, and rose rapidly through the ranks, A Yun felt that her hardships had finally paid off. Delighted, she prepared to bask in her brother’s success and marry a handsome husband, confident that her future would be smooth sailing. But her dear elder brother smiled as he wiped down his sharp sword. “You want to marry someone else? Then I’ll kill him.” - Lu Wenzhou hadn’t liked the little noblewoman from the prefect’s household who was always trailing after him. But for some reason, when she suddenly lost both her parents and was left all alone, he couldn’t help taking the risk and bringing her home. Frowning, he said sternly to his delighted mother, “She’ll be raised in our household and will be my real younger sister from now on. Mother, don’t get the wrong idea.” But the little girl grew taller day by day, becoming ever more beautiful, with skin like ice and bones like snow. She was as gentle and delicate as ever, just as obedient as when he first brought her home, and even agreed to a match arranged by someone else. After returning from court, the top scholar, Lord Lu, sent her matchmaker away without a word. With a perfectly composed expression, he gently smoothed his sister’s stray hair back with his warm fingertips. “A Yun, are you still half asleep? Since you were raised in the Lu family, naturally you can only be my wife.” His younger sister’s eyes widened. (1) One couple, happy ending, childhood sweethearts who raise each other, sweet romance (2) They call each other brother and sister, but they are clearly not related by blood (3) Her being too delicate to take care of herself is purely the male lead’s sister-complex talking Coming soon: Heir’s Marriage [Scheming, devoted heir * adorable, mischievous young wife] A sweet story of love after marriage, a one-couple tale of everyday life in an aristocratic household Jiang Pei came from a concubine-born branch of the Jiang family. From childhood, she knew she would probably marry a scholar from a family of equal standing. But just as her wedding approached, her fiancé died unexpectedly. Her mother took her back to the capital to ask her paternal grandmother to arrange another match. By coincidence, her legitimate cousin had just offended someone at the palace and been granted a marriage to another man. With no other choice, the family hurriedly married Jiang Pei off to the man originally meant for her cousin. He was the heir of a duke’s household. His father was a renowned general who commanded the army, and his paternal aunt was the current empress. Afraid that she had married far above her station, Jiang Pei tread carefully after the wedding, doing her best to survive in the household. Fortunately, she could at least claim to be a distant cousin by marriage. Though her status was low, her mother-in-law treated her kindly, and her husband was reasonably courteous to her. Later, she decided she needed a child to secure her place, so she diligently attended to her husband every day. In the end, she warmed his heart and got him to stop mentioning concubines and maids, keeping him devoted to her own courtyard. Jiang Pei was quite content. Until one day, when she went to bring her husband some soup like a dutiful wife, she heard him tell a friend, “The first day she returned to the capital, I’d already decided I would marry her.” Jiang Pei: …You’re quite the actor, aren’t you? She turned on her heel. She was done serving him, and would sit back and wait for him to coax her. Theme: When true love arrives, every side of you is accepted