Lantern Bearer in the White Night

Mad, ruthless new emperor X emotionless goddess

Both are beautiful, strong, and tragic

/

Shen Zhao was framed for treason. With several arrows in his body and on the verge of death, he saw a young woman coming through the flames.

She carried a flower lantern that gave off a dim, warm glow. Her slender, graceful figure made her seem like a goddess from the heavens.

To die at the hands of a young woman? That wouldn't be so bad.

Shen Zhao gave a faint scoff with blood on his lips and closed his eyes. But instead of her blade, all he felt was the cool touch of her fingers tenderly brushing his cheek.

She said, "Shen Zhao, it isn't your time to die. I'll save you."

Shen Zhao crawled back to the world of the living from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, swearing two oaths.

First, he would overthrow the dynasty.

Second, he would find that young woman.

/

Tirou is the keeper of the Soul-Luring Lantern, the lamplighter who connects the worlds of the living and the dead.

Chosen by fate to tend the lamp, she has no desires or emotions, no sorrow or joy.

She has escorted countless souls, borne the weight of ten thousand years of evil, and even received a single "thank you."

But she has only ever saved one person.

The first person she saved was Shen Zhao.

Because his allotted years were not yet over, and his affairs in the world were unfinished.

The last person she killed was also Shen Zhao.

Because he had gone mad.

Utterly mad. Mad with a passion that cut to the bone.

Tirou didn't understand love. She couldn't understand why anyone would die for the one they loved, or why anyone would pine for someone who was already dead.

Shen Zhao told her,

"It's all right. You don't understand. I'll teach you someday."

Shen Zhao held his bloodstained sword and casually kicked aside a head at his feet, its eyes still open.

"Tirou, if you bring ruin to the nation, then I'll be a tyrant. You and I will be stained with blood, and neither of us will stay clean."

Tirou stood in the shadows, holding the Soul-Luring Lantern, which had burned since time immemorial. Its seven-petaled lotus glimmered faintly.

Her voice was cool and calm as she asked, unmoved:

"You saved me and killed for me. Is that love?"

Shen Zhao elegantly and calmly wiped the blood from his lips, then smiled slowly.

"No. First, I'll teach you to hate me."

Tirou's eternally gentle, pale blue eyes showed a hint of confusion.

"Then what is love?"

Shen Zhao placed his sword in her hand, gripped her slender wrist, and swiftly drew it across his own throat

His smile was wild and brazen.

"You have to die in my arms. Tirou, that's love."

//

Cover used with permission, non-exclusive: Shili Changhuan Nanyu

/Coming soon: Claim the Phoenix

What you have done to me,

I will make you repay a hundred, a thousand times over.

/

Mad rabbit and wild dog

Corrupted innocent girl & seemingly innocent hostage with a dark side

Strong leads / Double A / Everyone is evil / Second male lead becomes the love interest

1-

In her previous life, Funing was his dog.

In this life, she was determined to make him less than a dog.

2-

The Third Princess of Southern Chu was so beautiful and gentle that she charmed the whole realm.

Unfortunately, this fragile beauty, like glass, became the plaything of her brother, the Crown Prince Xihua of Southern Chu.

He wore a face as bright and noble as the moon, and had won a reputation for virtue throughout the land.

But every night, he tormented her in bed, making her kneel beside him and watch other women enjoy his attentions.

Funing never understood.

He was her own brother. Why did he think she would fall in love with him?

Funing refused to endure such humiliation, but her assassination attempt failed, and she took her own life in the Hall of Light.

When she opened her eyes, she was back in the days when her mother had been framed and killed, and she herself was in dire straits.

Since heaven had given her another chance, she would never let anyone toy with her again.

Funing turned the tables, taking the Crown Prince Xihua's path and leaving him nowhere to go.

3-

Funing narrowly escaped being killed, and the notorious Seventh Prince, who had been held hostage in the palace for years, stepped in to save her.

For reasons he couldn't quite explain, Zong Yuan helped her clean up the traces she hadn't had time to deal with.

"I'm repaying the favor you did me back then."

The Seventh Prince smiled lazily. "This prince has always believed in repaying kindness. But, Third Princess, you don't need to do all the killing yourself from now on."

Funing lowered her head and wiped her blade. Bright red beads of blood rolled down to the base of her fingers. She didn't even look up, her voice cold.

"What? Do you want to be my dog?"

Zong Yuan paused, then clicked his tongue. "The Ashina are wolves. Third Princess, I don't ally myself with weak little rabbits."

Funing gave a faint laugh and shook her head.

"When this blade sinks into your heart, you'll learn that rabbits aren't to be trifled with either."

Zong Yuan's assessment: "Petty and two-faced."

Funing shot back: "Dressed like a dandy, dressed like a villain, and always meddling."

Zong Yuan didn't think he was a good person, and of course that seemingly frail Third Princess wasn't a good person either.

By day, she was a cool, otherworldly beauty. When she killed, she was a red-robed demon.

She seemed to bear a blood feud against the dynasty, and every blow she struck was ruthless.

Life was dull, and Zong Yuan had planned to watch from the sidelines. But Wen Funing had one scheme after another, and a beauty trap was still a trap.

Tell her to thank you, and she'll tell you to get lost.

Tell her to be careful, and she'll still tell you to get lost.

Her mouth and heart were hard, but her eyes and waist were soft as could be.

Zong Yuan clicked his tongue in wonder. How had this black-hearted rabbit

become exactly his type?

#EnemiesToLovers / Joining forces to cause trouble / A duo turning the world upside down / Kill me? Kiss me instead.

Wen Funing, if you don't mind, why don't I take your surname?

Everyone named Wen is rotten.

I don't need us to be clean, either. Wen Funing, I insist on being a villain right alongside you.

/Coming soon: Forced to Marry the Frail Heir

Also known as My Delicate Husband, Who Can't Manage on His Own!

///Fiery young princess X gentle, scheming heir

///Marriage before love | No love at first sight | No long-planned scheme|

Jiang Miao had been raised in Xizhou for sixteen years, living a smooth, carefree life. She was the little sun that all of Xizhou held in the palm of its hand.

One day, she returned to the imperial capital and was forced to save a young heir at the Flower Banquet.

Jiang Miao had to put in a tremendous effort to drag him ashore. She slapped him twice, once on each cheek, then bent down to listen for his heartbeat.

She couldn't hear one.

In a panic, Jiang Miao pinched his pale lips and prepared to breathe life into him.

Just then, the Grand Empress Dowager arrived with a large crowd, and caught them in the act.

Grand Empress Dowager: Oh my, everyone, turn around quickly.

-

Pei Xinglang had only just woken up after falling into the water when he heard that the Grand Empress Dowager had arranged a marriage for him.

And, by an incredible coincidence, his intended bride was the very young princess, Jiang Miao, who had arrived in the capital just a few days earlier.

Pei Xinglang forced his still-recovering body to the palace and knelt before the Grand Empress Dowager, begging her to withdraw the decree.

The young princess was there too. Her face was fair and rosy, her dress a blazing red, and she glared at him before rolling her eyes.

Pei Xinglang: ...?

Jiang Miao knelt beside him and gave an exceedingly improper bow.

"Grandma Empress Dowager, there are so many rules in the Central Plains. I only saved his life. Does he really have to repay me by marrying me?"

Pei Xinglang's moon-cold face slowly filled with question marks.

As she spoke, Jiang Miao gave him a thoroughly disdainful glance, then chattered on:

"Back in Xizhou, anyone who wanted to marry me had to fight me fair and square. Only if he won would I consider him worthy of my attention."

The Grand Empress Dowager looked at Pei Xinglang affectionately after hearing this.

"Xinglang, what do you say?"

Pei Xinglang covered his forehead with both hands and bowed his head to the floor, speaking solemnly.

"The princess and I are not a suitable match. I ask Your Majesty to reconsider."

Jiang Miao immediately grew angry. "What do you mean? Do you think I'm not good enough for you?"

Pei Xinglang: "...It's this humble subject who isn't good enough for the princess."

The Grand Empress Dowager laughed, took Jiang Miao's hand, and placed it in Pei Xinglang's.

"I think you two are a perfect match! The marriage is settled."

On their wedding day.

Jiang Miao: "Let's make this clear first. After a year, I'm going back to Xizhou."

Pei Xinglang: "I will present the princess with a letter of divorce with both hands."

One year later.

Jiang Miao: "What should I do? Without me, my frail husband, who can't manage on his own, might not survive!"

Pei Xinglang: "...Miaomiao, you're overdoing it."

Theme: Always keep your heart turned toward the light, no matter what