The Disgraced Prince Is Forced to Marry into Another Family

[This story is complete. My new story is at the very bottom~]

The disgraced prince Xiao Zhiyu was mediocre in talent, knew nothing of painting, calligraphy, or music, and was a sickly, pretty face. He'd thought he'd live and die alone in the palace, but the old emperor found one last use for him and casually bestowed him as a wife upon Prince Rui.

Pei Heng, Prince Rui, was second to none beneath the imperial family: a dashing young noble, proud and solitary as a pine.

The two were a terrible match.

The news left the world stunned.

Rumors spread through the capital that Xiao Zhiyu had threatened to kill himself over Prince Rui, crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang himself until the old emperor shamelessly forced Prince Rui to marry him. Prince Rui had no choice but to forsake his beloved and marry the disgraced prince, his face livid.

People might as well have said he was willing to be the other man for love.

His former crush had suddenly become his husband, but Xiao Zhiyu didn't think much of it. He'd be living behind closed doors either way. What difference did it make whether he was in the Cold Palace or Prince Rui's residence? None.

Yet Pei Heng was moody and impossible to read.

Though they'd long since fallen out, he still kept the things Xiao Zhiyu had used when serving as his study companion, carrying them concealed inside his collar.

Though he supposedly had another beloved, he flew into a rage over a few dismissive remarks about the disgraced prince.

And after the disgraced prince faked his death and escaped, Pei Heng searched for him for years and refused to give up.

Xiao Zhiyu had no intention of seeking true love or even a respectful marriage, but he could never understand Pei Heng.

Until one day, he discovered that he was the one Pei Heng had always loved.

==

*Pei Heng X Xiao Zhiyu.

*Moody, ill-tempered pursuer X cautious, revenge-minded escape artist pursued.

*An alternate setting. Anything goes.

*Extremely! Extremely! Extremely clichéd and melodramatic! It's exactly my kind of thing...

*A bittersweet love story, but with a happy ending.

My next story will be Abandoned After Being Mistaken for the Fake Young Master. Check it out on my author page~!

Blurb: [Real Young Master X Fake Young Master]

Ning Zhenyu did everything he could for his family, even trampling his dignity underfoot. His father and brothers drove him out of the house and told him he was nothing but a bastard of unknown origins.

When they were born, he and Xie Jiu had been switched.

At ten, he was Ning Zhenyu, the legitimate young master of the Ning family, dressed in fine clothes and eating well, cherished in the madam's arms. Xie Jiu was the son of a low-ranking Ning family servant, running errands and delivering tea to the madam and the young masters. The Ning boys once cracked his skull with a rock.

At thirteen, he clutched a pearl hairpin that had belonged to his dead mother, sobbing as he wore mourning clothes before her memorial. Xie Jiu was a bastard who'd been driven out of the Ning family for theft, dragging himself along the street with an injured leg.

At nineteen, he hit dead end after dead end trying to help the Ning family in the capital, looking wretched and enduring one humiliation after another. Xie Jiu had already shed his status as a servant and become the promising Xie Heling, whose future was limitless. Dressed in luxurious furs and riding a fine horse, he sped past Ning Zhenyu, splashing dirty water onto his hem.

Ning Zhenyu had gone everywhere smiling and currying favor for the Ning family, only to be met with his father's cold stare and a furious accusation that he was shameless, a bastard who'd stolen another person's identity. His father threw him out, then turned around and welcomed Xie Heling back into the family.

He lost his parents and brothers, then spent several days wandering about in a daze. Suddenly, the Ning family took him back, only to hand him over to Xie Heling. His former family even urged him to serve Xie Jiu.

Xie Heling asked him, "If you'd known this was how it would end, would you still have worked so desperately for the Ning family?"

*

Ning Zhenyu was stubborn and had never lifted a finger to do housework. He was hardly suited to serving Xie Heling, so he did the bare minimum.

He hoped Xie Heling would soon grow tired of him, giving him a chance to escape. But Xie Heling saw through him and tormented him cruelly. Then Ning Zhenyu found new hope: his first love took his hand and quietly promised to risk his life to help him escape.

Overjoyed, Ning Zhenyu ran away with the man he loved, only to be delivered straight back to Xie Heling by his first love.

Ning Zhenyu couldn't believe it. He watched his first love, the man he'd thought so noble and blameless, kneel on the ground, too ashamed to look at him, yet repeatedly ask Xie Heling for favors.

Xie Heling tapped the space beside him and said unhurriedly, "Zhenyu, it's time to come back."

*

Xie Heling's initial feelings for Ning Zhenyu were driven by revenge. He intended to exploit his beautiful looks, imprison him, and break him, but little by little, he grew indulgent toward him.

Ning Zhenyu used Xie Heling's influence to take revenge on his old enemies. When the Ning family filed a complaint, Xie Heling laughed and agreed to help.

When Ning Zhenyu became entangled in the capital's complicated affairs, Xie Heling turned a blind eye and continued protecting him as usual.

In the end, Ning Zhenyu stood outside the prison and looked at him with a complicated expression. "Everything that happened between us is settled now."

Xie Heling stared at him and smiled. "Can the things between us really be settled?"

*Well-dressed beastly pursuer X stubborn, sharp-tongued beauty pursued.

*Melodramatic romance.

Theme: It's better to rely on yourself than on others.