After the Concubine Ran Away

[Complete]

Zhao Jianing was born to a distinguished family, beautiful and willful. Yet Xue Yu knew what kind of venomous heart lay beneath the face of the capital's most beautiful woman.

After the Duke's estate fell into ruin, the family was sold off, and Zhao Jianing fell into Xue Yu's hands.

The Duke's pampered legitimate daughter had fallen from lofty heights into the mire. Xue Yu tightened his grip on her chin and tilted her face up, sneering, "Zhao Jianing, back then, when you used such vicious means to force me to marry you, did you ever imagine this day would come?"

Zhao Jianing was forced to meet his gaze. "Xue Yu, I didn't."

"You think I'd believe that?" Xue Yu curled his lips and leaned down to murmur in her ear, his voice a devil's whisper. "Don't worry. I won't take your life. I'll keep you by my side and torment you, slowly."

Zhao Jianing suffered endless humiliation at the Xue estate. To take revenge on her, Xue Yu trampled her dignity and demanded everything from her without restraint.

What she didn't know was that while Xue Yu hated her for her poisonous heart, he was also unable to resist her, and gradually lost himself in his own conflicting feelings.

She pretended to go along with him, and at last found a chance to escape. But she heard that on the very day she fled, the usually calm and restrained Young Marquis Xue had completely lost control, searching for his "Ningning" like a madman.

At first, Xue Yu didn't think Zhao Jianing's escape would affect him at all. She was just a plaything he kept around. If she ran, so be it. There was no point keeping something that could never be tamed.

But gradually, events slipped further and further beyond his control. He began lying awake all night, locking himself in Zhao Jianing's room for entire days.

Everyone could see something was wrong with him. At last, he had no choice but to admit that he missed Zhao Jianing so much he was going mad.

Zhao Jianing was his medicine. He thought he had to get her back.

He knew Zhao Jianing had once loved him, and had always taken that for granted.

Until the day he was injured saving her. She didn't even look at him. Her whole attention was fixed on the Crown Prince beside them, who had only suffered a minor injury. He had merely scraped his hand, yet she cared so much about the other man.

Blood poured endlessly from Xue Yu's chest, but he no longer felt pain. He only felt empty.

That was the day Xue Yu truly went mad.

Reading notes: 1. Both leads are each other's one and only. 2. The heroine isn't actually poisonous-hearted; the hero has misunderstood her. 3. Happy ending, and there won't be a new male lead.

Coming next: Sole Possession of Spring

Jiarou has a secret: every so often, she has to taste the Third Prince's blood.

Yan Jiarou has lived in the palace for years, though she isn't a member of the imperial family.

Her father, Yan, earned outstanding military honors and died in battle. In recognition of his service, the emperor made Yan Jiarou a county lady and brought her into the palace to be raised.

She grew up alongside several princes, and they were childhood friends.

Though she lived under someone else's roof, the emperor treated her exceptionally well, and most of the princes doted on her. As a result, she grew spoiled and willful. Everyone in the palace indulged her, with one exception.

The Third Prince, Xiao Yi, had an exceptionally handsome face, outshining all the other princes. But he was lazy and unconventional, always opposing her and delighting in bullying and teasing her.

Jiarou hated the Third Prince most of all. Naturally, the one she liked was her gentle and courteous Second Prince, radiant as the moon, her Crown Prince brother.

But during a hunting trip, a wild fox bit her. After that, she developed a strange illness: an inexplicable restlessness kept welling up from deep within her, leaving her unable to settle. Only a certain medicine could calm it, and one ingredient was crucial: blood.

And yet only Xiao Yi's blood could make her lose herself in desire.

Recently, Second Prince Xiao Jue noticed that his imperial sister, who used to follow him around and call him "Crown Prince Brother" in a sweet voice, had stopped being so close to him. Instead, she was getting closer and closer to Xiao Yi, the person she used to despise most.

Uneasy, he followed the two of them one day to a rockery in the imperial garden.

There he saw his beautiful, delicate imperial sister pinning Xiao Yi against the rockery. She rose onto her tiptoes and bent to his neck. The bright red at her lips stood out against her porcelain-white face. It was blood!

And his Third Imperial Brother, who was always at odds with her, had one hand around her waist and was gently biting her earlobe. In a lazy, magnetic voice, he said, "Yan Yan, take it slow."

"Don't forget what you promised me: after taking my blood, you'll stay away from the Crown Prince, hmm?"

Hidden behind the rockery, the Crown Prince watched it all, his eyes nearly bursting with rage.

Yan Jiarou was troubled by this strange illness, but what troubled her even more was this:

She realized that the person she later became obsessed with was Xiao Yi himself.

Coming soon: Win Your Heart

Jiang Wan was born into a distinguished family, raised in silks and fine food and showered with affection. She thought her life would always be so smooth, until she discovered by chance that she wasn't truly the Duke's daughter.

Long ago, someone had switched her with the real young master. Her true birth father was a lowly stablehand, a compulsive gambler who often beat his wife and daughter.

If Jiang Wan returned to her birth family, she would fall into an endless abyss. What's more, the real young master, Qi Ji, had later been adopted. He now held a prestigious position and was as noble and refined as the dream lover of every young lady in the capital.

He had everything, and reclaiming his identity would make no difference to him. But she was different: if they switched back, she would have nothing.

So she decided to keep quiet and bury the secret in her heart forever.

But although she managed to fool everyone else, she failed to fool Qi Ji.

To keep the secret from getting out, she had no choice but to go to him and plead. The once haughty and willful Miss Jiang now humbled herself, kneeling at the tip of his boot. Tears streamed down her beautiful, porcelain-white face, making her look utterly pitiful. "Qi Ji, please... Our families have been close for generations. You can still visit the estate and see your parents..."

Qi Ji sneered and raised her chin with the tip of his boot, his voice cool and indifferent. "But why should I help you?"

Jiang Wan steeled herself, gently laying her soft hand on his knee. Her voice was sweet and alluring. "My dear Qi..."

Qi Ji slowly raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

Though Qi Ji came from a powerful family, his parents had always been extremely strict with him. He had never experienced parental warmth. No one knew that beneath his refined, noble exterior was a cold and detached heart.

To him, Jiang Wan was nothing more than a spoiled, foolish young lady from a distinguished family. The only thing she had going for her was her looks.

He had always looked down on people like her. The only thing he envied was that she had parents who loved her dearly.

But it turned out that life should have been his. Jiang Wan had stolen everything from him, and now she shamelessly came to ask him to keep her secret.

He agreed, just to see how far she would go for it.

No matter how he humiliated or tormented her, she endured it all and placated him sweetly. "Qi, don't be angry..."

He thought Jiang Wan would let him do as he pleased forever. Then the truth came out, and their real identities were revealed. When he saw the relief and freedom on Jiang Wan's face, he panicked for the first time.

He sensed something slowly slipping beyond his control. The person who feared the truth coming out had, at some point, ceased to be Jiang Wan.

Theme: Take things in stride.