The Cousin Is Both Delicate and Charming

Wan Ning had grown up doing whatever she pleased, until the age of sixteen, when she met the bane of her existence: Xie Jue, the Duke of Dingguo, who held the highest position at court.

He was strikingly handsome, elegant and refined, and so aloof he seemed almost inhuman.

As soon as Wan Ning arrived at the estate, she got into an argument with the Sixth Princess. Xie Jue caught her in the act and punished her by making her copy texts until midnight.

Unhappy with her punishment, she got into another argument with the Sixth Princess. This time, Xie Jue gave her a severe caning and looked down at her. "Do you admit your mistake?"

Wan Ning stubbornly refused.

Her friend gave her a tip: "The best way to get back at a man is to make him fall in love with you, then deny him what he wants."

Forced to study in the study, Wan Ning seethed. Then she made another mistake. In a moment of heated frustration, wanting to escape and get back at him at the same time, she rose onto her toes and kissed his cheek...

"..."

"..."

Xie Jue had been groomed as the next duke from birth. His will was as unyielding as stone, and he believed that all emotion was a burden. Over time, he had grown calm and unruffled.

But at some point, merely hearing Wan Ning mention another man began to stir his emotions.

He could always tell whether her teary-eyed look was an act or genuine, yet he kept having thoughts he shouldn't.

Watching Wan Ning chat and laugh with the young master of the Jiang family by the Huashui River, he grew frighteningly silent. So alert by nature, he didn't even hear what the person beside him was saying.

What finally made him lose control was the banquet that night. Wan Ning came over to him with a bright smile and said sweetly, "Cousin, I want to marry Young Master Jiang..."

He gave a dark, slightly predatory smile and caught her chin. His voice was low and slow. "Ningning, I must have indulged you too much. You've become far too brazen."

Drunk and drowsy, Wan Ning felt a pang of pain on her lips, then was enveloped in scorching heat. She didn't know whose breathing had grown ragged...

Bonus scene:

Wan's father searched everywhere for a husband for his beloved daughter, and at last found a man who delighted him in every way, outstanding in all respects. He rubbed his hands together excitedly and asked Xie Jue:

"What do you think of my future son-in-law?"

Xie Jue paused, then asked him:

"What do you think of me as your future son-in-law?"

Wan's father had no answer. He had turned to stone...

*

One-on-one, both leads have no prior relationships. The hero falls first, while the heroine is slow to catch on. After the Dowager Consort's birthday banquet, there will be various romantic rivalries, and later the hero will resort to force to get what he wants.

The hero is eight years older than the heroine.

The leads are not blood-related, and they are not cousins by marriage either.

Coming Soon

The Lord Gu, Stop Interfering with My Blind Dates

The beloved little Qingning Princess was peerlessly graceful and breathtakingly beautiful. Everything had gone her way since childhood. The only hardship she'd ever known was falling in love with Gu Que.

She cooked for him, stood up for him at every turn, and wanted to give him the very best.

She prayed for his safety, caught a fever after standing in the rain all night, and all he said was, in a low voice, "That's superstition."

Every time she confessed her feelings in a soft voice, all she ever got in return was silence.

She never lost heart or gave up. She kept offering him her dazzling, burning love.

But that heart shattered on the night of her coming-of-age banquet. She watched Gu Que place a hairpin in the hair of her close friend Lian Yi, and realized she had no idea when they had become so intimate.

She had no idea, either, that all those times Gu Que had broken his promises had been for Lian Yi...

She argued and made a scene, desperately trying to prove her love, but it ended in a heartbreaking choice. At the moment between life and death, he chose Lian Yi.

Through tear-blurred eyes, she saw him hurry over, still every inch the perfect gentleman. His expression darkened as he lowered his gaze. "Princess, she is not like you."

After fighting with all her strength until they were at each other's throats, all she had proved was how much he cared for Lian Yi and how much he loved her.

Qingning was heartbroken and collapsed in tears beneath the warm winter sun.

When they met again, he was a rising star at court, a powerful official trusted above all others by the emperor.

He was surrounded by admirers, and the threshold of his home was nearly worn away by marriage proposals. He declined them all with impeccable courtesy. When his colleagues teased him for being so aloof, he smiled faintly. But when he saw Qingning chatting and laughing with another young man, his gaze turned cold. After watching her for a long while, he looked away, spilling wine over his hand.

He kept his feelings tightly suppressed, convincing himself that their past had long since faded away. Now he was merely looking after her on imperial orders. But one day, as he passed by, he heard Qingning say in a sweet, playful voice, "Young Master Cui is a fine-looking man. If I married him, I'd let him win even when we argued."

The twin-lotus hairpin in his hand snapped cleanly in two.

Qingning thought Gu Que was acting strangely. After repeatedly interfering with her marriage prospects and hearing him coldly criticize every young man she considered, she blinked at him.

"Lord Gu, don't tell me you think you're the best choice?"

Gu Que gazed silently at her for a long moment, then answered in a serious, steady voice, his manner as cool as ever: "Why couldn't I be?"

Qingning's lips curved slightly, but the smile never reached her eyes. "It's not that you couldn't. It's just that I don't like men like you, Lord Gu."

Theme: Find contentment within yourself. You don't need to care what others think. Even from the lowest point, you can turn toward the sun.