[This story will end and go behind a paywall on the 29th, starting from Chapter 24. If you've already read those chapters, please don't buy them again. Thank you!]
[Since you're here, why not check out my next story, My Lady Is Keeping a Lover? A sharp-tongued, sweet young lady × a domineering, wicked young general. Please add it to your reading list. Thanks!]
[Preview blurb below!]
As the only daughter of the Grand Princess, He Ling was born noble and doted on from the start. Just after her fifteenth birthday, she became engaged to the heir of the Duke of Jingguo, earning the envy of many young noblewomen in the imperial capital.
He Ling had been delighted, too, but when she arrived in the capital, she discovered that the heir was a liar. He pretended to be honest and respectable, but was actually a libertine. He kept a delicate cousin in his residence and maintained a seductive mistress outside it.
But the engagement was difficult to break, and He Ling was furious. To get back at her unfaithful fiancé, she too went looking for a lover and secretly kept one in a private residence.
Who would have thought that this lover was a liar, too? He seemed gentle and obedient, but had a terrible temper and a nasty disposition. He was always trying to control her. Not only did he expect her to support him with gold, silver, and fine clothes, he also demanded that she send away her other male companions and devote herself to him alone.
After going to so much trouble to win such a feast for the eyes, He Ling could only agree through gritted teeth. But her lover became more and more brazen, repeatedly showing himself in public and trying to claim his place.
He Ling was used to being well-behaved, and felt uneasy. She insisted on hiding him, but he deliberately made noise, his breath brushing against her ear.
Lover: "Didn't you secretly keep a lover behind the heir's back for this very reason, Miss? Do you like this thrill?"
He Ling, completely rattled: "I do. I like it so much I'm about to lose half my life."
[Bonus Scene]
The people at the Duke of Jingguo's residence gradually noticed that Miss He had been visiting less often lately. And when she did come, she always looked guilty and spoke timidly, as if afraid someone would discover her secret.
Then a guard happened to see Miss He sneaking around outside a private residence, looking this way and that before hurriedly dragging a man out of her carriage and trying to shove him inside.
The guard hadn't even had time to get angry when the man turned around and gestured for him to be quiet.
Then their heir, who was supposed to be out on patrol, strolled into the residence, hand in hand with his future wife.
[Story Blurb]
Ji Xuanling was a princess consort, but her life was far from comfortable.
The marriage had been arranged through a scheme. Her husband was cold, her mother-in-law disliked her, and the noblewomen of the capital still mocked her.
And Shen Wenyan, her dear husband, even wanted her to ask to be divorced so that a princess could take her place as princess consort.
All the love and effort she had given him over twelve years had become a cruel joke.
Ji Xuanling wanted no more part of it. She decided to let go and seek a peaceful life, but on her way back to the residence, she accidentally fell off a cliff and was reborn before the scheme that had trapped her.
In this life, she would live for herself, free and unrestrained. She didn't care about becoming a princess consort, and she wanted nothing to do with the false-hearted Shen Wenyan.
After Ji Xuanling fell to her death, Shen Wenyan thought his life was no different from before. He could still socialize with officials and handle political affairs. The only changes were that his household was quieter and the nights seemed longer.
Until his mother sat by his bed, eyes brimming with tears, and said, "The dead cannot come back to life. Ji Xuanling is gone. Why keep tormenting yourself?"
Ji Xuanling. Just one Ji Xuanling. What did she matter? Since she left, he hadn't thought of her once.
Shen Wenyan tried to comfort his mother, but instead he choked out a large mouthful of blood. Through the haze, he saw that smiling face again, just as beautiful as ever, and just as heart-wrenching.
If only he had gone with Ji Xuanling that day. If only he could trade everything he had now for one more Ji Xuanling.
[Reading Guide]
An upbeat, sunny young lady × a seemingly gentle but obsessive prince (both reborn)
Entirely fictional setting, one-on-one romance
Theme: Be yourself
These two people have been married for 12 years in vain. The man thinks he is very nice to the heroine, but the heroine doesn't feel it at all, and the people around him don't feel it either (otherwise they wouldn't dare to bully his beloved wife who laughs at the powerful minister). What's going on?
Zhao Meirou wanted to kill her before, but then the heroine just let it go. She was so heartless.
?? So the disappointment of more than ten years was forgotten in just a short period of time. This is not a love brain.
The heroine has obviously forgotten the miserable 12 years of her previous life.
They were husband and wife for 12 years in their previous life. One of them never got along very well, and the other never took a good look at each other. They should let each other go in this life.
Master Shen: This day is finally coming!
Such a heroine is quite good. She is not the kind of person who is full of hatred in her heart, nor is she the kind who cries and uses words to be indifferent to the male protagonist. The heroine can choose a man who loves her and cares for her. She is not the kind of woman who complains about the male protagonist everywhere. Nowadays, in rebirth novels, most of the female protagonists are the kind who want to torture the male protagonist to death. It is rare that they can get along with the male protagonist peacefully and calmly tell the things about their past lives.
Lord Shen: Wife, wife! Daughter in law?! Miss Ji: Hello, who are you calling? The wind was too strong and I couldn't see clearly.
No, the heroine no longer has a career? The male protagonist pressures the female protagonist to get married, making her the target of public criticism in the whole city. First the seventh prince, and then Shen Wenyan, aren't they afraid of being hated by others? Can you think about it for her? It's a bit suffocating for the male protagonist to follow you everywhere and emphasize that I love you anytime and anywhere. The female protagonist has figured out that it is more important than anything else and does not need the male protagonist to guarantee everything with love.
Lord Shen: That's not right!