[The new novel, Don't Let the Green Branch Go, is now available! The blurb is below. Visit my profile if you're interested, and please add it to your collection!]
Before meeting Qu Ning, Shen Shuxing was already a well-known young master, skilled in every kind of indulgence. He was not only handsome, but also good with a brush and pen. Though he could be a little frivolous at times, countless women still secretly adored him.
But even a playboy who has romanced countless women can come unstuck.
The one person he should never have provoked was Qu Ning, the only daughter of General Qu, a favorite of the emperor.
During the New Year celebrations, Qu Ning brought ninety bridal gift carts and led 108 fierce-looking servants armed with long staffs into the Shen residence, surrounding Shen Shuxing.
Shen Shuxing's hand trembled as he held his bowl of rice. He swallowed, tried to look calm, and stammered, "Qu... Qu Ning, you brought so many people... You didn't come all this way just to wish me a happy New Year, did you?"
Qu Ning watched him with a sly look and asked in all seriousness, "Shen Shuxing, are you afraid of pain?"
Shen Shuxing: "Huh?"
Qu Ning: "I've brought the bridal gifts. You have two choices: marry me with these gifts, or let my people beat you half to death, then I'll use these gifts to marry you anyway. The people I brought hit hard, but you're thick-skinned. Just bear with it and it'll be over soon."
On the day the Yu family was condemned and its possessions confiscated, Yu Mian was a bewildered child not yet six years old.
She watched her father and brothers being loaded onto prison carts. She watched her mother hang herself. Huddled in a corner, she didn't dare shed a single tear.
For the ten years she served in the imperial harem, she endured endless abuse. The bruises from pinching and whipping never left her body. In that merciless darkness, her only ray of light was Zhao Lianjun, the crown prince of the Eastern Palace.
When she was hovering between life and death, he had once saved her.
After that, she developed feelings she should never have had, and could only hide them away in secret.
After Zhao Lianjun ascended the throne, Yu Mian quietly watched him marry, watched him depose his empress, watched him go mad over the death of the woman he loved, and watched him mistake her for his dead empress.
To stay by his side, Yu Mian was willing to become someone else's shadow, bit by bit. But even that wasn't enough.
Whenever Zhao Lianjun lost his mind, he would glare at her with bloodshot eyes, grip her cheeks hard, and say each word slowly: "I told you, the only person who can stay by my side is her. You'd better do everything you can to become more like her. I mean everything."
For three years, Yu Mian was entangled with Zhao Lianjun. She endured every hardship she had been spared in the past, holding on for the little love she felt for him.
It was only when Zhao Lianjun brought back a sickly beauty from outside the palace who looked even more like the late empress, then made Yu Mian kneel in the freezing snow and bleed to make medicine for her, that Yu Mian finally understood.
Some people's hearts are like solid ice. No matter what you do, they will never thaw.
The emperor's groveling pursuit of his wife, bittersweet ending.
Theme: Make an effort to live each day well
It feels like the relationship between Ning Ning and the male protagonist has not progressed much... And Ning Ning has always been in charge of this relationship. Although this cannot be said to be bad, the male protagonist obviously also likes Ning Ning but feels forced and helpless. Someone clearly liked Ning Ning, but his reaction was mediocre and he made no progress at all. Although it may be because the male protagonist has not yet realized that he is interested in Ning Ning, it does not mean that he can push her away again and again. Anyway, thank you for the hard work.
I can only say that I have seen about 80 or not 100 of the emotional scenes of the deputy CP. To be honest, they are quite cliche. The main CP is the most attractive highlight of this novel. The scenes of the male and female protagonists fighting each other and the emotional friction and inner scenes should be the most important. Now I only see the two of them fighting and having inner scenes. Too little inner scenes make me feel that the two characters are unreal and distant.
To be honest, I have no interest in the princess and the person named Qi. It would be even more boring to blindly guess whether the two of them are married in the end. I am really looking forward to the relationship between the male and female protagonists. They have been married for so long, but the relationship scenes have always been brushed aside without any detailed description. On the contrary, there are so many scenes with the princess and the two.
The deputy CP is getting points all kinds of crazy, but the main CP is making no progress (show hands)
Ah? Finished? I still want to see their cubs?
Finish spreading flowers ~ It's not easy
Qu Yu: Thank you so much, princess, you have done us a big favor~
I would like to call you Ace Pigeon!
Xiao Shen, come and save the lady!
Persimmon: Every night I bite the corner of my quilt to fall asleep!