After Offending the Future Emperor

(Main story complete) Shen Yiguang had a dream. In it, the Crown Prince, her cousin whom she had admired for years, was in love with someone else. He had married her only as a temporary measure. During the years they were married, she could count on one hand the times he had smiled at her. Her more than ten years at his side had been nothing but a joke. To keep his true love from suffering, the Crown Prince imprisoned Shen Yiguang deep in the palace as soon as he ascended the throne, intending to depose her and shower his true love with unparalleled favor. Only then did she realize that the aloof, noble man was capable of such profound devotion. Later, the rebel Xie Mi stormed Chang'an, seized power, and brought about a change of dynasty. In the Cold Palace, Shen Yiguang suddenly remembered her past with Xie Mi. He had once been her personal slave, serving her faithfully. Yet, to make the Crown Prince smile, she had publicly whipped Xie Mi for startling the Crown Prince's carriage, humiliating him in front of everyone. The palace gates were smashed open. A dashing general on horseback advanced step by step, leaving Shen Yiguang nowhere to retreat. In the dark chamber, her jade ornaments clattered against one another, and the palace bells rang out. "Master..." Xie Mi removed the only jade hairpin she had left, his lips brushing her ear as he murmured seductively, "I'll ask you one last time. Who's your man?" Shen Yiguang jolted awake, cold sweat running down her back. Just then, a guard came in carrying a whip and reported, "Young Lady, as you ordered, Xie Mi was whipped twenty times. He's already passed out." Shen Yiguang: "..." She stared at the bloodstained whip and fell into deep thought. (Catlike, pampered noble lady x doglike, carefree and roguish big shot) Content warnings: A second male lead gets a wife-chasing crematorium arc. If you can't accept scenes featuring the second male lead, this isn't for you. Mary Sue, many male side characters, and love rivals, so proceed with caution. Coercive possession, intense pampering and pursuit. The story's values do not represent the author's, so please don't casually label the author. Check out my completed older work, Mistook the Crown Prince for My Betrothed. Shen Wangshu had a nightmare. She dreamed she was the heroine's cousin, promised to the male lead in an arranged marriage since childhood. But after the male lead disappeared for years, a villain got her drunk and sent her to the Crown Prince's bed. Forced to become his concubine, she was imprisoned in the Eastern Palace. Later, after attempting to assassinate him, she was sentenced to death by poison. Her death drove her cousin, the male lead, and the Crown Prince into bitter enmity. To change her fate, Shen Wangshu planned to stay away from the Crown Prince and find her cousin, who had been missing for years. Outside Jizhou City, she recognized her badly wounded cousin by the jade token from their betrothal. She brought him home and lovingly nursed him, caring for him tenderly and planning to fulfill their engagement when they were old enough, then live out the rest of her life in peace and comfort. But something wasn't quite right. Her cousin was proud and violent, and treated human life as worthless. He was nothing like she had imagined, but rather a little like the Crown Prince... Fortunately, under her care, her cousin's gaze softened from cruel suspicion to tender affection. He protected and supported her. Then, at a banquet one day... her "cousin" appeared in brocade and jade, seated in the highest position, as the ministers bowed low and called out, "Long live the Crown Prince!" Shen Wangshu: "...I picked up... the wrong person. Help! QAQ" She packed her things and prepared to flee that very night. But outside the imperial capital, the Imperial Guards surrounded her in layer upon layer, and Shen Wangshu was caught red-handed. The Crown Prince sat high on his horse, smiling carelessly, though his eyes were cold. He raised her chin with his riding crop. "Running away?" Check out my newly completed modern romance, The CEO Always Gets Face-Slapped. Xie Lang comes from a wealthy family, is stunningly handsome, and has exceptional abilities. He's the quintessential arrogant show-off, someone countless admirers can only gaze at from afar. He dominates the headlines across every platform year-round. His daily routine is to smugly watch the world fall apart when the weather turns cold, and when he looks at people, his eyes seem to contain a pie chart that precisely conveys thirty percent disdain and thirty percent contempt. Jiang Li is a science-minded straight woman, with off-the-charts intelligence and negative social skills. She spends all her time with formaldehyde, doing biology experiments and dissecting corpses. Corpses smell better to her than men. They're in completely different worlds, but a sudden blind date ties them together. As soon as they add each other on WeChat, Xie Lang thinks, "I need to remind this woman to behave herself. Just because I agreed to a blind date with her doesn't mean she should get any ideas." Jiang Li sends him a message asking him to provide an IQ test report, and says she won't go out with any man whose IQ is below 130. Xie Lang: ? At their first meeting, Jiang Li gazes at him with smitten eyes, her bright gaze full of affection, as if she'd fallen in love at first sight. Accustomed to such looks since childhood, Xie Lang scoffs: "All I can give her is the title of Mrs. Xie. As for love, that's one thing I definitely can't give." Sure enough, Jiang Li lowers her eyes tenderly and says, "You look a little like the first corpse I dissected with my own hands." Xie Lang: ?? Some time later, Xie Lang decides this woman has successfully caught his attention. He rents sixteen helicopters to stage a proposal for the ages. Flowers rain down from the sky. Amid the heady fragrance, Jiang Li hands him a thick stack of exam papers. "Each exam is ninety minutes long. You can get a marriage license once you pass." Xie Lang: ??? That's just ridiculous. Theme: Bravely pursue beautiful love.