Spring in the Brocade Tent

[Forcible possession | Main story has a tragic ending | The bonus chapter has a happy ending under hypothetical circumstances~]

[Next book: "Seizing Joy." Blurb below~]

Sheng Shu had always thought she was living a good life.

She lived in a refined courtyard, with servants tending to her every day and no worries about food or clothing.

Her parents were alive and doted on her, visiting from time to time.

She also had a husband who, though rarely home, loved her dearly and never took a concubine.

Her husband could be domineering and a little rough at night, but she didn't mind. He treated her well, and she didn't expect him to be perfect.

Until one day, she discovered that nothing was as it seemed...

Her parents were actually her uncle and aunt.

Her husband was a powerful minister who had long ago married the Chancellor's daughter as his principal wife. They had a son and two daughters, and their marriage was harmonious.

Her betrothed had long since been exiled.

And the Sheng family had already been destroyed...

Ten years later, Sheng Shu opened that door again, only to realize she no longer had the courage to cross its threshold.

Many years later, Sheng Shu ruled over a vast realm with absolute power, yet year after year, all she could do was watch the flowers bloom and fade alone.

"Xiao Jijin, when we met briefly all those years ago, I had already fallen for you."

★★★

1. Forcible possession, classic melodrama.

2. The male lead is not a virgin. He's flawed, extremely possessive and controlling, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

3. He pursues his wife after losing her, but she really is dead. This story will stay firmly on the tragic-ending path.

4. Thanks to BS Bu Ai Shuohua for the fruit wine illustration.

Coming Soon: "Seizing Love"

Xiao Shuheng had never been interested in women, until a soft, alluring woman under the effects of an aphrodisiac threw herself at him in a country brothel. Only then did he learn what it meant to crave more.

He'd intended to buy her, but when he woke, she had vanished without a trace.

Back in the capital, he saw his cousin's wife, newly arrived from the countryside. Her beauty was like snow, her waist slender and soft. She looked just like the woman from that night.

Later, by day Xiao Shuheng respectfully called her "cousin's wife," while secretly plotting all manner of vile and sordid things.

◎Female perspective / happy ending / female lead is not a virgin, male lead is / the original wife is no good / includes forcible-possession plotlines

Theme: Life is precious, love is even more so, but for freedom, both can be cast aside.