Deceiving the Nobleman

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Wen Jingyi, the only daughter of the Prince and Princess Consort of Shengde, grew up adored by everyone. Beautiful and dazzling, she was the incomparable jewel of the Northern Kingdom, the treasure her parents cherished above all else.

She was promised in marriage to this year's third-place scholar, a graduate of Daizong Academy. Everyone said that the scholar and the young county princess would make a perfect match and a beautiful love story.

But when she was thirteen, the Prince and Princess Consort of Shengde died one after the other. The Prince of Ying rose to power and became emperor, and in a single day, Wen Jingyi went from a future princess, a favored daughter of heaven, to an orphaned county princess, her former glory gone.

She saw her fiancé, upright and refined in public, embrace her cousin, the princess who constantly made things difficult for her, when no one else was around. Their affection was unmistakable. Wen Jingyi said nothing, smiling faintly.

But the moment she turned away, she tearfully threw herself into the arms of Xuan Sheng, the most powerful minister in the court. "Senior Brother, Jingyi is so sad." Delicate and tearful, she was graceful and alluring, inspiring tenderness.

Xuan Sheng, famed for his solemnity and careful conduct, a man who had always been proper and self-disciplined, gazed at the woman in his arms for a long moment. Then, without revealing his thoughts, he wrapped an arm around her slender waist and said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

*

At first, Wen Jingyi did not dare to set her sights on Xuan Sheng.

She had known him since childhood and knew him to be a virtuous, principled gentleman. She had also watched him rise steadily through the ranks until he stood at the very top of the court, his authority growing ever more imposing. It seemed he had grown distant from her.

Until one day she happened to glimpse a half-covered painting of Xuan Sheng's and noticed that the red mole on the painted figure's shoulder blade looked remarkably familiar. Snow-white skin, a vermilion beauty mark, and an alluring, graceful charm.

Only then did she decide to use him. She might nestle against him like a fledgling returning to its nest, meet his fathomless, dark gaze, and test him with a sweet voice: "Senior Brother, my heart hurts."

The young Imperial Preceptor, who held the power of life and death in the court, nearly lost all reason under the sound of her repeated calls of "Senior Brother," letting her have whatever she wanted.

A gentleman may be deceived by a plausible pretext. Wen Jingyi felt a little guilty, but ultimately chose to put her own safety first.

After ending her ridiculous engagement, she made a clean break and withdrew.

Unexpectedly, when she climbed into the carriage to leave the capital, Wen Jingyi lifted the curtain and found Xuan Sheng sitting inside, his expression gentle.

He raised his eyes, the corner of his mouth lifting. His expression was unrestrained and sharply intimidating, not at all like a modest gentleman. "Qingqing, where are you going?"

Only when he pinned her inside the carriage did Wen Jingyi realize what a ruthless character she had provoked.

Reading notes:

1. A scheming, delicate county princess x a sweet-on-the-outside, dark-on-the-inside powerful minister. Both are each other's first and only. They are senior brother and junior sister, and the male lead is six years older than the female lead. The romance begins when the female lead is eighteen, at the start of the story.

2. The female lead's childhood nickname is Qingqing. One-on-one pairing, with male rivals competing for the female lead, who is adored by everyone. The others have one-sided crushes on her.

3. The title comes from Mencius, "Ten Thousand Chapters, Part One": Thus, a gentleman may be deceived by a plausible pretext.

4. Important: The female lead has no romantic feelings for her fiancé.

The blurb for The Spring Warbler:

As the legitimate eldest daughter of Chancellor Rong, with the emperor as her cousin, Rong Wan became famous throughout the capital for her celestial beauty, graceful bearing, and breathtaking elegance.

But no one knew that the lowly prisoner-slave she had rescued by the Li River in the tenth year of Yuanjing had already developed a desire to possess this precious flower from the land of wealth and privilege.

The State of Wei was beset by a young ruler and uncertain succession. Grand Marshal Xun Yi controlled the government and held power over the court. His moods were unpredictable, and the officials feared him, treating the young emperor as a mere figurehead.

Unable to bear seeing her cousin humiliated and feeling pity for his frail health, Rong Wan sheltered him from the storms while the political winds howled across Xiaoyingzhou. She even went to Yunzhong Mountain herself to seek a doctor and medicine for him, and did not hesitate to openly defy the Grand Marshal on his behalf.

The entire court was shocked, and everyone trembled with fear and unease.

Xun Yi rubbed his knuckles, his jade-like face as vicious as a rakshasa, cold murderous intent plain in his phoenix eyes.

Everyone said that if she offended the Grand Marshal, even Chancellor Rong would be unable to protect his daughter.

In the Grand Marshal's manor, deep in the inner courtyard, Rong Wan's chin was held in a tight grip. Her snowy face was flushed, tears and sweat streaked her cheeks, and she wept in distress.

Xun Yi's eyes were dark with jealousy. "Wanwan, you constantly humiliate me for that useless man, yet you won't even spare me a kind look."

When Rong Wan protected her cousin and fled south to the State of Chu, the pursuer following them along the way was as dark and ghostly as a specter, playing with them like a cat with a mouse, yet never killing them.

A subordinate urged Xun Yi not to let the weak emperor remain outside. It could lead to trouble, and he should cut the problem off at its roots.

Xun Yi stood looking up at the sky, his figure cold and solitary. "If it makes her hate me, what use is the world to me?"

A super lovesick, dark and twisted powerful minister male lead x a cool, stunning beauty with an exceptionally strong drive to succeed

Thesis: Have the courage to be yourself