The Tempestuous Emperor's Substitute Beauty

A carefree, naturally naive beauty of a Noble Consort * A short-tempered emperor who is not what he seems and imagines his way through love

A silly, sweet romance / a little groveling / everyday life is the main plot

Shen Qingtan was born as beautiful as a peach blossom, making her one of the capital's renowned beauties. The only problem was that she wasn't very bright.

After entering the palace as a Noble Consort, her days were spent eating and playing.

The emperor never attended court or read memorials. What he loved most was running up to her, pointing at her, and crying out in anguish: "You're nothing like her! How could you ever compare to her?"

Shen Qingtan took a bite of her peach and thought that the man must be sick in the head.

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Everyone knew that the new emperor had a departed first love, a woman he remained utterly devoted to and would never allow anyone to defile.

The Noble Consort bore some resemblance to his first love, so even though she was foolish, he took good care of her.

One day, the silly Noble Consort fell into the water.

The new emperor immediately jumped into the lake. His ministers saw him cradle the Noble Consort in his hands like a precious pearl, as if he feared she might melt away.

Someone who had always been an irritant in his eyes could, one day, become the salty tear welling at the corner of them.

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When Shen Qingtan woke, she saw the new emperor with his nose red from crying and remembered the boy she had saved when she was young.

Later, the boy lost his memory and became emperor, telling everyone he had a first love.

Remembering everything, Shen Qingtan pieced together the new emperor's behavior over the past few days. Puffing out her cheeks, she shoved him away. "You're nothing like him! He was younger than you, and better-looking!"

That night, the new emperor offered a reward of one hundred thousand taels of gold and swore he would find the Noble Consort's first love.

According to the young palace eunuchs, the emperor ground his teeth as he issued the decree.

A quick plug for my upcoming novel, My Frail Husband Isn't That Sick: Please add it to your reading list!

Pure sweetness / bickering couple / not-quite-ancient writing style

The Ji family fell into ruin overnight, and Ji Shiwei, once a noble lady held high above others, was about to be sent to the entertainment quarters.

Her father had once had a close friend in Yangzhou. When Ji Shiwei had nowhere else to turn, this old friend rescued her and said, "Come back to Yangzhou with me. Our families arranged a marriage for you when you were children, so we can't just leave you without help."

After arriving in Yangzhou, Ji Shiwei happened to hear from the servants that her benefactor's second son was frail and sickly. She had been rescued only to bring him good fortune through marriage and keep him company for what were expected to be his final days.

Ji Shiwei gave a bitter smile. There was nothing she could do.

On their wedding night, a scale lifted her veil with ease. In the flickering candlelight, the young man in his wedding robes had skin as pale as powder and lips devoid of color. When he looked at her, his eyes held a cold, almost amused expression.

Ji Shiwei steeled herself. Fine, she would marry him to bring him good fortune. She would just wait for him to die, then live a peaceful life of her own.

Who would have thought that as the days passed, not only did she fail to outlive her sickly husband, but rumors began to spread that the young master of the Jiang household and his new wife were a perfectly harmonious couple.

Ji Shiwei: Heaven knows, all I want is to live my own life in peace.

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Jiang Xu had been frail since childhood. Only when he grew older did he realize that his father's second wife had been secretly drugging him.

He kept taking the medicine as usual, enduring it in front of everyone and pretending to be weak, all so he could eliminate the threat for good one day.

Who would have thought his scumbag father would lose patience, afraid that he might drop dead at any moment, and bring a convicted woman from the capital to marry him and bring him good fortune?

Fine, let her marry him. Women were all easily swayed. When the second wife talked her into joining forces to harm him, he would keep the evidence and get rid of them both at once.

Who would have thought that as the days went by, she wouldn't join in harming him at all? Instead, she treated him with endless tenderness.

Jiang Xu's lips softened into a smile. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to save her a place by his side.

He heard that she had abandoned her gentle nature to defend him, even daring to talk back to the old madam, and had been punished by being made to kneel for hours in the ancestral hall.

Jiang Xu pretended to pass by the hall by chance, carrying a bowl of her favorite lotus seed porridge.

But when he looked up, he saw the woman who was usually so gentle kneeling perfectly straight, earnestly asking, "Why is he still alive? I can't keep pretending much longer. When will I finally be free?"

Theme: No matter how difficult life becomes, keep loving it. Hope and light will come together.