In her previous life, Qiongzhi saw the Crown Prince twice.
The first time, he sat tall in the saddle as he rode down the street where the brothels stood. Leaning against a second-floor railing, she watched him from afar.
The second time, he was limping as he led the imperial guards in confiscating a corrupt official's property. She took one look from a rickety tower, then stepped onto the railing and leaped down, landing in a splash of blood in the gloomy, lonely autumn rain.
At the end of her former life, Qiongzhi once found herself thinking, for no particular reason, that if women were flowers, then the flowers in a brothel must be the cheapest and most despised of all.
Easy to replace, easy to cast aside, easy to destroy.
When a client loved her, he praised her beauty. When he abandoned her, he scolded her for harboring foolish hopes.
If she could, Qiongzhi wanted to be planted in an expensive flowerpot and carefully tended, even if she would wither soon enough.
She simply wanted, more than anything, to be a flower of wealth and nobility for once.
--
From the first moment Xie Feichen saw Qiongzhi, he knew she was a greedy woman.
Greedy for his power, greedy for his influence.
But he was no longer the Crown Prince. He had been stripped of his title, his right leg broken, and reduced to a laughingstock.
Where would he get any power? Any influence?
Xie Feichen found it ironic that at this point, in all the world, only this greedy woman firmly believed he would become Crown Prince again.
Much later, he did indeed regain his position as heir. That greedy woman called in her favor and asked him to let her go.
But he gave himself over to a possessive obsession.
Since she had come to him of her own free will, he would never allow her to leave him.
[Content warnings and notes]
1. Obsessive, brooding, deposed Crown Prince x beautiful, calculating courtesan who knows her own worth
2. Neither the male nor the female lead is exactly normal
3. Romance sweetness rating: five out of five
4. Blurb dated: 2023-4-20
Theme: Only those filled with courage can change their fate.
