Holding Her Close

[Novel Blurb]

Princess Jiahe of Great Qi was as lovely as peach blossoms and as radiant as the autumn moon, a peerless beauty by any measure. Yet she was trapped by the matter of choosing a husband.

One day, the emperor and empress held a grand matchmaking banquet for Princess Jiahe, inviting nearly a hundred princes and nobles to the palace to meet her in person.

But Jiahe had no interest in the richly dressed aristocrats of Jinling. Instead, she pointed at a ninth-rank official from the Ministry of Rites, standing beneath the covered walkway nearby in an indigo court robe of patterned silk as he checked the guests' name cards.

With his serene elegance and jade-pale beauty, he was exactly Jiahe's type...

But though one side loved, the other felt nothing...

Later, she could only watch helplessly as he executed the imperial clan, seized the throne, and bathed the palace in blood...

Later still, she finally gave up on him, only for him to seize her from behind and hold her fast.

His thin lips parted, his voice cutting and threatening in her ear: "Princess, where do you think you're going?"

Turning her face slightly, she gave him a gaze cold as ice. "Lu Huaisi, what will it take for you to let me go?"

"Be good. Don't make a fuss." His arm tightened around her soft waist. "Call me husband..."

[Reading Guide]

1. A peerless princess, soft and sweet at first but cunning later, and a treacherous minister who seems refined and elegant but is actually devious.

2. One-on-one romance, happy ending, both leads' first relationship.

3. Updates will follow the weekly rankings when listed; otherwise, 3,000 words a day. I have chapters saved up, so jump right in. Please add it to your favorites, pretty please~

4. Blurb written on June 3, 2022.

--- Upcoming Novel Blurb ---

"After the Cold Crown Prince Broke Off Our Engagement"

Gu Wanwan, the eldest daughter of the Protector General, was appointed crown princess overnight.

On the day she entered the palace to give thanks, Wanwan caught sight of a figure as pure as frost beneath the plum tree outside Qianyuan Hall. One glance was all it took for her to fall for him.

Later, her father told her that the young man was Lu Dounan, the exalted crown prince of Great Yan and her future husband. Wanwan was so delighted, she felt as if she had fallen into a jar of honey.

But just before their wedding, the crown prince arrived at the general's residence. Wanwan assumed he had come to discuss the wedding arrangements, never imagining that a letter breaking off the engagement would land in her hands.

"The crown princess is someone of the highest station. You are not worthy of her title."

At his words, Wanwan's heart bled. When she finally came to her senses and chased after him outside the residence, she saw a beautiful woman waiting by Lu Dounan's luxurious carriage.

The woman's features were so dazzling that Wanwan felt ashamed of her own looks. She could only watch as Lu Dounan tenderly wrapped an arm around the beauty's slender waist and carried her into the carriage as if she were a precious treasure... Her feet would not move an inch.

From then on, Wanwan never mentioned the words "Crown Prince Lu Dounan" again, acting as if they had never been connected. Instead, she gradually grew close to a refined young chancellor.

They made a handsome and well-matched couple.

Only, for some reason, Wanwan had lately felt a chill creeping up her back...

On her wedding day, the bright red bridal veil was lifted, and the man who appeared before Wanwan was not the chancellor. A pair of icy eyes fixed on her, holding her in their grip.

Her eyes flew open and she recoiled. "Why is it you? Where is my husband?"

He pinned her fiercely against the wall, his voice low and icy. "And who, exactly, is your husband?"...

[Male Lead's Perspective]

Lu Dounan was the only crown prince of Great Yan. From childhood, he had been trained in the arts of rulership, and his temperament had grown cold and rational, like winter frost, without a trace of warmth.

Yet for some reason, after court one day, the sight of a girl in a red dress, her face full of lively charm, stayed with him and would not fade. She often appeared in his thoughts, beyond his control.

Later, he learned that she was Gu Wanwan, the eldest daughter of the Protector General.

He had never before felt so constrained, so Lu Dounan decided to keep his distance.

But the farther he kept away, the more he realized he could not control himself. Then he heard that the girl was going to marry, and the jealousy and resentment in his heart reached an unprecedented peak...

Theme: A precious, sincere heart should be cherished.