The Pearl-Adorned Concubine

A Jiao accidentally took a knife meant for the second son of the Shen family. Feeling sorry for her, with nowhere else to go, he brought her back to his residence to recover. Once she was well, he kept her by his side as a serving maid.

She had snow-white skin, dark hair, and a slender waist. Serving her master day after day made her the target of everyone’s jealousy. Later, someone even schemed to make her share her master’s bed, and the entire household spurned her.

Having suffered in silence, A Jiao had nowhere to turn for help. She endured cold stares and humiliation.

The second son of the Shen family, who seemed so noble and upright to outsiders, never cleared her name. He was tender and affectionate with her at night, then sent her bowl after bowl of “tonic” during the day.

Later, he brought the widowed wife of his elder brother back to the residence.

The young widow was pregnant. Not only did she look just like A Jiao, her childhood nickname was Jiaojiao, and she had once been in love with Shen Yuzhou.

Whenever the young widow encountered A Jiao, accidents kept happening.

At Cian Temple, while praying for blessings, she nearly miscarried.

This time, the man’s expression turned completely cold. He carried the young widow, bleeding profusely, down the mountain in the middle of the night.

He did not know that A Jiao was pregnant too, and abandoned her without hesitation.

That night, torrential rain poured down. Alone, A Jiao ran into bandits and tragically fell off a cliff...

When she opened her eyes again, she was back with the Lin family.

Her father was a first-rank marquis, her mother a Grand Princess, her uncle the emperor, and her betrothed the crown prince.

At last, she remembered that she had never been the lowly substitute A Jiao, nor anyone’s concubine.

She was the favored daughter of heaven, Lin Baozhu.

Years later, she rode through the streets in a flower carriage alongside the heir to the throne.

Shen Yuzhou, newly appointed commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, had come to the capital to report for duty. He caught an inadvertent glimpse of the future crown princess beside the crown prince, her eyes gentle and her smile bright, and felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His eyes reddened.

No one knew that on that rainy night, he had turned back with a blade in hand, slaughtered all the bandits, and searched for her like a madman.

[Content warnings!]

1. This is not a rebirth story. The heroine did not quite die after falling off the cliff; she just switched to her high-status identity.

2. The elder brother’s wife is the male lead’s sister-in-law, not his wife.

3. The male lead is not a womanizer, he is not a womanizer, but he is a scumbag and a dog. Pure-love-warrior readers or anyone who cannot bear the heroine being hurt even a little should run for the hills.

4. This is a melodramatic, tear-jerking revenge story with a dog of a male lead and a whole family of dogs. It is as over-the-top as it gets, and tastes differ. The author’s writing may not suit everyone, so if it isn’t for you, just close the page and leave. Please don’t announce that you’re dropping it!!!

5. The broken relationship will not be mended, but the male lead gets a lot of page time. The author defines the male lead as the male character with the most scenes, not necessarily the one who ends up with the heroine.

6. There are lots and lots of painful twists in the middle.

7. The characters’ values do not represent the author’s. If you meet a man like this in real life, run. This is just a completely uninhibited melodramatic story, so please don’t take it too seriously. Please be kind in the comments, thank you!

#Please add my next story, The Maid and Concubine, to your reading list!#

Qiao Yingying was beautiful as an immortal, yet her fate was as precarious as a duckweed leaf. She was a bed-warming concubine in Lu Sui’s household. At long last, he died, and she managed to find herself another patron.

Her betrothed came from a count’s family and treated her with great affection. But when she went with him to pay her respects to his elders, Qiao Yingying learned that the man she had once served was none other than the regent of the empire, and her betrothed’s maternal uncle.

Looking at the man in white seated high above, cold and aloof, risen from the dead, her face turned deathly pale. Her hands trembled as she offered him tea. “P-please have some tea, Uncle...”

That night, before Qiao Yingying could escape, the man pinned her against the door. He gripped her chin and spoke with amusement:

“Does he know you’re his uncle’s woman?”

“Stay with me. When I’ve had my fill, I’ll let you marry him.”

Qiao Yingying had no choice but to endure the humiliation and submit, hoping that once she was married, Lu Sui would let her go, and they could each go their separate ways.

*

Lu Sui held power over the court. Noble and elegant, he was like a flower on a high peak, beyond anyone’s reach. Yet while traveling incognito in the south, he let a scheming maid climb into his bed and fell from his lofty perch.

After that, he treated her like a plaything and humiliated her in every way. The lowly maid had no backbone and felt no shame. She even clung to him every night, saying she loved him. Gradually, he found himself enjoying it. He thought that once he returned to the capital, he would grant Qiao Yingying the status of a concubine in the prince’s residence.

Until the little maid schemed to make him “die,” then ran away with his money without even looking back.

When they met again, Lu Sui saw her using the same honeyed words to deceive a second man. Hidden in the shadows, he watched her every move with a cold sneer.

He watched her become a noblewoman, watched her and another man act like a loving couple.

He repeatedly offered her an olive branch, and she rejected him every time.

Later, he saw her kiss another man in a garden with his own eyes.

To escape him, she even eloped with some other man and secretly married him behind his back...

That night, Lu Sui stormed into the bridal chamber with his sword. The groom fell to the floor, his life or death uncertain. Qiao Yingying was bound to the bedpost, her red wedding robe stripped away, cursing him for breaking his word.

The man’s elegant, handsome face was twisted with fury. He sneered. “Let you go, only to watch you give yourself to him and live as a loving couple?”

He would rather crush her and let her rot in the mud.

She would never escape him in this lifetime.

Theme: Cherish the one you love