The Delicate Cousin Miss

Coming soon: My Cousin Has No Heart. Please add it to your collection!

[The official and pirated versions differ in plot. Writing is hard work, so thank you for supporting the official version!]

This novel:

Shen Jue was soft, sweet, and as lovely as a jade carving. At Duke Wei's birthday banquet, the second legitimate son of the Xie family took a fancy to her.

The second son, Xie Can, smiled roguishly. "Cousin Shen is sweet and adorable. Would you like to come live with me at the estate as you grow up?"

It was a joke, but Shen Jue was sent to the Duke's estate as a child bride. Xie Can soon grew bored of her.

Shen Jue was abandoned in a secluded courtyard, where she was bullied. Fortunately, the fair-minded Heir Xie protected her, allowing her to grow up little by little.

At her coming-of-age ceremony, Shen Jue was like a flower in full bloom, her beauty impossible to ignore.

"Cousin Shen is so beautiful. It'd be a real shame not to take you as my concubine." Xie Can whispered in her ear. "Once I take you as a concubine, you don't need to thank me too much. Just take good care of me, and you'll have all the fine clothes and food you could want."

No one asked whether Shen Jue was willing. Instead, they jeered resentfully that she had climbed into a powerful family's good graces.

Shen Jue had no choice but to save herself. By a twist of fate, she lost her virginity to none other than Xie Lan, the dignified and refined heir who was fair-minded and upright.

Afterward, Shen Jue thought it might be for the best. At least she would not have to marry the ill-tempered Xie Can and endure his mistreatment every day. Heir Xie took responsibility and said he would marry her. She had thought that becoming a concubine would be more than enough, but instead, the Duke of Wei's estate sent an eight-bearer bridal sedan and gave her a proper wedding.

The hero's perspective

Xie Lan was cold by nature. He had followed his father into battle since childhood and, while still young, attained the rank of third-grade general. He was equally fair in handling the estate's affairs, big and small.

The only person who gave him trouble was his younger brother, born of the same mother. His brother wanted to bring a little girl from their distant relatives to live at the estate, then hid on the sidelines and watched as she was bullied.

Xie Lan was not a sentimental man, but he felt pity for her and helped her time and again.

He saw how cautious and timid she was when she first arrived, afraid that she would once again have to depend on others.

The entire Duke's estate depended on him. One little girl was nothing.

Later, when she came of age, he saw the way his younger brother looked at her. A fire seemed to blaze in his heart, impossible to ignore.

Then, on that fateful night, the fire inside him spilled over and burned even brighter.

At their lavish wedding, his younger brother glared at him with red eyes and called him despicable.

Xie Lan took the hand of the woman he loved and said, "Call her sister-in-law."

Reader's guide:

Both leads are virgins. Happy ending.

Contains melodramatic tropes such as forced marriage, premarital sex, and a second male lead who suffers for his love.

The second male lead is immature. He likes the heroine but doesn't know how to express it, and gets his comeuppance.

Blurb saved as a screenshot on June 18, 2022.

Coming soon: My Cousin Has No Heart:

A distant cousin came to live at the Duke of Ying's estate. Her name was Su Su, and she was strikingly beautiful, with delicate brows and eyes and a celestial bearing.

The heir personally escorted her into the estate. He insisted on marrying her, heedless of family rules, propriety, and the gap in their social standing.

"How can some country bumpkin become the mistress of the Duke of Ying's estate!?"

His attempts to marry her were thwarted at every turn, so the heir settled for taking Su Su as his concubine.

After the wedding, everyone said the heir and his cousin were deeply devoted to each other. Only Su Su knew that she was the heir's shadow slave, a gentle blade in his hand.

Within the household, she had to manage everything properly and play the virtuous wife and loving mother.

Beyond it, she had to assume other identities and sell her charms, helping the heir expand his influence at court.

The heir had taken her as a concubine merely to fend off other women and devote himself to the pursuit of power.

After a scheme left Su Su both defiled and seriously injured, the Duke of Ying's household pressured the heir into divorcing her.

She had become a discarded pawn, and even the heir no longer wanted her.

After leaving the duke's estate, Su Su used her savings to buy a small house and start a modest business.

Her business grew and grew, until it caught the attention of the imperial family.

She regained the memories she had lost, and her true family came looking for her.

A prince of the reigning dynasty humbled himself and personally came to take her back to the palace in a phoenix carriage. "My sister has suffered."

The cousin who had once been mocked as a country bumpkin and a fortune hunter rose to become the imperial family's beloved jewel. Her past as the Duke of Ying's heir's concubine was a stain on her life.

The Duke of Ying's household tried to curry favor and offered her the position of the heir's wife. She replied coldly, "I would rather marry into a foreign royal family than marry beneath me."

[The hero's perspective]

Lu Wujie was the heir of the Duke of Ying. He entered government service young and advanced swiftly, focused solely on his official career, and was cold and heartless by nature.

Unwilling to let his family arrange a marriage and get in the way of his ambitions, he simply brought a shadow slave into the estate to put on an act. The shadow slave would not compete with anyone in the inner household, would make a fitting wife, and could continue helping him expand his influence at court.

But no amount of careful planning could outwit his own heart. As time passed, he fell for Su Su.

He was the moon in the sky. For him to cast his light on the dust below was already a gift.

When Su Su failed to carry out her duties and nearly ruined his grand plans, he divorced her as punishment, to teach her a lesson.

After all, she was his shadow slave. Even her life belonged to him. If he beckoned, she would come back.

But after leaving him, Su Su thrived, even transforming into the reigning princess.

With that gentle, lovely figure gone from his household, the power he had once held within easy reach suddenly seemed meaningless.

Author's completed novels:

The Oriole Hidden in the Forbidden Palace: Caged-bird empress dowager x regent with a split personality

The Beloved Little Plum: Three older brothers, three different surnames

Theme: Stay away from bullying. Sincerity should be met with sincerity.