Radiant Chang'an

New novels coming soon: Wrongly Cherished and Hidden Pearl. Feel free to follow~

As the legitimate daughter of a prominent family, Zhang Ying had always understood that she had no say in whom she married.

When she learned she was to marry the second son of the Song family, the Duke of Ying's household, she was secretly relieved. She had met Second Young Master Song two years earlier. He was refined and mild-mannered, and seemed like a good man.

On their wedding night, her red veil covering her face, she anxiously heard her husband open the door in the middle of the night...

Early the next morning, her dowry maid woke her in a panic, her face ashen. "Madam, your husband... he got drunk last night and drowned in the pond."

Zhang Ying sat up, the brocade quilt slipping from her shoulders to reveal a clear bite mark. Suddenly, she remembered the hot breath against the back of her neck last night. There had been not the slightest hint of drunkenness.

And so she became a young widow, living on tenterhooks in the Song household.

The villain who had assaulted her on her wedding night haunted her like a demon, and even the New Year's Eve banquet offered no escape. In the dark, windy night, Zhang Ying couldn't see his face. She pulled out her jade hairpin, wounded him, then fled in a panic.

As she left the rear courtyard, she stumbled straight into a broad chest.

Zhang Ying raised her head with a trembling breath. Her tear-filled eyes made out the person before her. "F-Fifth Brother?"

Song Changyan caught her trembling hand and asked with concern, "Second Sister-in-Law, what's wrong?"

After Fifth Brother carefully escorted her back to her quarters, Zhang Ying was getting ready for bed when she suddenly noticed a patch of crimson bloodstain on her sleeve. She had no idea when it had gotten there.

1. One couple, happy ending. Gentle and kind heroine X calculating, scheming hero.

2. An entirely fictional setting. The political intrigue is light; the romance is the focus.

3. A melodramatic story. None of the characters are perfect. The male lead is especially calculating and ruthless, so read with caution if that's not your thing.

4. The relationship between the leads has already ended by the time they get together.

Blurb for Wrongly Cherished, an upcoming historical novel

Because of an old debt between their fathers, Lu Xiao rescued the orphaned daughter of the Sheng family as she fled for her life.

His kindness was limited, however. After bringing her back to his estate, he paid her no further attention. "Whether you survive is up to you."

He privately assumed this frail, helpless woman might not live another six months.

Unexpectedly, this doddering vine grew as tenaciously as a weed between the stones, eventually winding around him until he could no longer escape.

Since that was the case, and he had power in his hands, there was no harm in protecting her a little, as long as she remained loyal to him.

He had thought that, to her, this was already a great gift.

But she wasn't satisfied. She appeared obedient on the surface, while secretly thinking of nothing but escaping.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, a servant from the Lu household barged into the banquet hall against all propriety and whispered a few words into his master's ear.

In full view of the assembled royals and nobles, the usually dignified and composed Young Master Lu immediately turned cold and left without a word.

Within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the city gates were under lockdown.

Someone, unsure what was going on, asked around quietly: "Has Lord Lu gone to such lengths to arrest a criminal?"

A person in the know replied, "There's no criminal. A maid from the Lu household ran away."

1. One couple, happy ending.

2. A story of coercive love, with the old-school melodrama of lovers bound by hatred.

Theme: Treat people sincerely.