The Useless Beauty

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Shen Qingyan was disguised as a boy by her concubine-born mother from birth, becoming the Earl's household's only illegitimate "son."

Her father, unaware of the truth, hoped she would bring glory to the family.

He did everything he could to send her to the Duke of Ying's clan school, hoping she would pass the highest examinations and enter government service.

Her mother, however, wanted her to use the opportunity to climb the social ladder and marry into an influential family.

Unfortunately, Shen Qingyan was blessed only with a devastatingly beautiful face, while her personality was naive and rather dull.

Her classmates constantly teased and bullied her, and no one sincerely befriended her.

At first, she grew close to her maternal cousin Gu Mingyuan because she wanted his protection.

Her cousin was the Duke of Ying's legitimate son, a refined and handsome young man with a cold temperament.

He had placed among the top three in the imperial examinations as a youth, and by the age of twenty, he had become a Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

She both respected and feared her cousin, yet shamelessly relied on him all the same.

Later, she discovered that the man she wanted to climb toward, the kind and gentle heir of the Marquis of Yong'an, was also close to her cousin.

So she clung even more tightly to her cousin.

But her cousin's gaze grew increasingly intense.

At last, one day, she discovered that her cousin had developed a forbidden, twisted desire for her.

But Shen Qingyan wanted to use his influence to get close to the heir.

She awkwardly flirted with her cousin, saying things that could be taken in more than one way and asking him to put in a good word for her.

Her cousin grew colder toward her, letting her show affection and send hints to his friend.

Just when she thought she was about to rise to the top,

her background was exposed.

She was not the Earl's household's illegitimate "son" after all.

She was merely a bastard.

The Earl's household threw her out. Everyone despised her, and she had nowhere to go.

With no other options, she saw her cousin again. He stood before her like a gentle breeze beneath a bright moon, smiling as he reached out his hand.

Almost impatiently, she took it, and he lifted her up and hid her away in his private residence.

Later, she racked her brains and finally managed to get close to the heir behind her cousin's back. Just as she waited, filled with joy, for the heir to come marry her, her cousin arrived instead.

She had never seen her cousin like that. His gaze was fierce, and his hand caressed her face as the murderous rage in his chest could no longer be restrained.

"Don't forget, I'm the one who is your husband."

A silly little beauty x an aloof, untouchable flower. A melodramatic story of possessive love.

Notes!

(1) Important! The heroine's background was not exposed by the male lead. The school sections draw on school violence and bullying, while the clan school terminology comes from Dream of the Red Chamber. Thank you, and lots of love!

(2) The male and female leads are not related by blood.

(3) One-on-one romance, and both leads are each other's first!

The cover is used with permission from @Xiao Xin (Happy Fried Chicken Shop).

------- Please follow my upcoming story, Spring in the Sleeve -------

After the late emperor died, Jiang Xuezhen, who had never been favored by him, was named a Dowager Consort by the new emperor.

Dowager Consort Jiang was a delicate beauty with an ethereal face and a chronic illness, a frail beauty raised in the seclusion of the inner chambers.

The new emperor often visited Dowager Consort Jiang. Separated by a screen, he remained cool and respectful, never crossing the line.

Everyone in the palace praised the new emperor for his gentlemanly conduct.

Only Jiang Xuezhen knew that he was a vicious wolf she had already enraged, one ready to tear her skin off and rip her apart at any moment.

While Jiang Xuezhen was still unmarried, she once rescued a young man.

Later, when she saw the affection in his eyes, she felt mischievous.

"Kill someone for me, and I'll elope with you."

The young man took her at her word. When he returned injured to find her, he discovered that she had already entered the palace.

On the night their attempted escape was discovered, the new emperor tore away his calm facade and demanded, again and again, that she fulfill her old promise.

"I won't keep fawning over you like a dog. I'll take back what you owe me myself."

A frail beauty of noble birth x an emperor gone dark

---- Recommended: My Friend Li Yang's upcoming story, The House Dog ----

Princess He Yuzhu of Yongle

is the brightest pearl in the city of Jinling.

Yet the vicious dog Jiang Zhuo is kept by her side, like a beast guarding a treasure.

She treats everyone else with cold indifference,

but is gentle only with Jiang Zhuo, the boy she rescued.

She smiles sweetly at him, brushes snow from his shoulders, and leaves soft kisses on his face.

From the moment He Yuzhu pulled Jiang Zhuo out of a pile of corpses, she gave him a new life.

She was the moon in the heavens, and he was mud on the ground. Jiang Zhuo never dreamed he would earn her favor.

He reveled in her tenderness, offering her his whole heart. He even gave up his identity as a prince of the Liao Kingdom, willingly becoming her guard dog.

But then he overheard her whispering to another noble young lady.

"He's just a servant. Why would this princess give him her heart?"

Her casual, contemptuous tone became a sharp blade that pierced Jiang Zhuo's heart.

It turned out all that tenderness, all that favoritism and protection, all those sweet words,

were false, no more than an illusion like flowers reflected in a mirror or the moon in water.

Heartbroken, Jiang Zhuo let the cold river swallow him.

When they met again, He Yuzhu was a princess sent to marry for peace after the State of Qi had been defeated, while he was a regent prince with power in his hands.

Jiang Zhuo watched the frail figure kneeling before him without expression. He ignored her pleading gaze, determined to make her suffer as he had.

Yet He Yuzhu moved through the princes of Liao and the sons of noble families like a butterfly among flowers.

Unable to bear it any longer, Jiang Zhuo cornered her in the shadows and gripped her face. "What exactly did you come to Liao for?"

He Yuzhu smiled like a flower in bloom, her dazzling presence shining like a pearl. "I want you to help me take back what was always mine."

She cupped his face, tears glistening in her silken eyes. "A-Zhuo, help me."

Jiang Zhuo roughly wiped away the tear at the corner of He Yuzhu's eye and glared at her coldly. "Do you think I'm still the house dog you raised, at your beck and call whenever you want?"

But later, the fallen princess of the Chen Kingdom entered the Eastern Palace and became the most exalted empress in the world.

What did it matter if he was the ruler of the world? He was still her house dog.

Theme: No matter how difficult life gets, as long as you face the sun, you can carve out a place for yourself with a smile.