After I Tempted My Mad Brother, He Turned Dark

Blurb:

After a switch at birth, Jiang Wanyu spends fifteen years as a merchant's daughter. When she is finally brought back to the marquis's residence, she discovers that her parents and relatives hate her, while everyone adores the fake heiress who stole her identity as the legitimate daughter for all those years.

Later, she dies at the hands of her birth mother and her husband.

When she opens her eyes again, she is back in the year she returned to the marquis's residence. She is still unmarried, and there is time to change everything.

To escape the fate she suffered in her previous life, she deliberately sets her sights on the all-powerful Regent. He was once her foster brother, and surely, out of affection for their childhood bond, he will look after her. Relying on his influence, she avoids countless troubles.

"He's only my foster brother. There's nothing else between us, and I have no romantic feelings for him."

Those joking words at a palace banquet become the source of this powerful minister's madness.

After the late emperor's death, the court is thrown into turmoil. Ministers nervously try to guess what Lord Pei, seated above them, likes, afraid of displeasing him. They spare no effort to discover his preferences, treading as if on thin ice.

One official presumes to guess what he likes and sends him a woman whose face resembles hers by half. He casually gives her to a subordinate.

"We were foster siblings for only a few years. Our bond was never particularly close, so it naturally means nothing."

He would later regret those words bitterly.

At a palace banquet, Pei Changjing sees another man courting her attentively. She smiles and responds with ease, laughing brightly with him, while avoiding Pei as if he were a poisonous snake.

His gaze turns dark and cold, terrifyingly so.

That night, he loses all restraint and traps the young woman between the sheets, staring at her with a cold, forbidding gaze. Slowly, word by word, he says, "Wanwan, why are you so cruel to me? When have you ever smiled at me like that?"

He raises a hand and slowly strokes her skin, feeling her tremble. He is only less able to control himself. He murmurs against her ear, "You say there's nothing between us? Wanwan, who taught you the rule of throwing me away after you've had your use of me?"

*The romance only begins after their familial relationship has been severed.

Advance preview: After Transmigrating into a Conquest Romance with My Love Rival, the Comments Fell Apart. Please add it to your reading list.

Blurb:

Li Yining pulls an all-nighter revising her thesis and transmigrates into the second daughter of the Dali Court Minister's family. When she realizes she's transmigrated into a book about coercive love and conquest, she is remarkably calm and thrilled.

The book centers on the tumultuous romance between Lin Yuanqiu, daughter of the chief minister, and the crown prince. Its endless torture, heartbreak, and long road to winning her back are simply irresistible to her.

As a background character, she can watch the leads up close and even indulge her odd little interests.

In the real world, Lin Yuanqiu is her rival: the perfect girl everyone else's parents wish they had, a top student. They have been mortal enemies since childhood, and Li Yining has lost to her time and time again. Lin Yuanqiu is a thorn in her side.

Later, she discovers that Lin Yuanqiu has transmigrated into the book too.

Li Yining covers her mouth with a handkerchief and laughs smugly, her voice dripping with mockery. "I've read the book you transmigrated into. Get down on your knees and beg, and I'll tell you what happens next."

Lin Yuanqiu can't be bothered to answer.

The next time Li Yining sees Lin Yuanqiu, she is utterly baffled. A tall, muscular, devastatingly handsome man has her by the throat and is threatening her: "I'll tell you again. Stay away from Susu. Don't get any ridiculous ideas!"

Lin Yuanqiu walks by calmly without a glance, then returns fifteen minutes later, her expression blank. "What a coincidence. I've read the book you transmigrated into too."

Li Yining: "..."

Damn it! So the two of them have transmigrated into two different hit, angst-filled stories about coercive love and conquest!

The Crown Princess's Glorious Favor is the most popular historical romance on the coercive-love-and-conquest charts. The male lead is a sinister crown prince with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and an overwhelming masculine presence. The female lead is his fiancée, Lin Yuanqiu, the cool, haughty daughter of the chief minister.

Their contrasting personalities, palpable chemistry, and charged ambiguity are off the charts. On their wedding night, when the crown prince hears Lin Yuanqiu mention the name of her first love again, his gaze turns instantly sinister and terrifying. He--

Suddenly, countless comments appear across the screen:

[No way, no way, is the iconic scene really coming?]

[Is the male lead about to shove the heroine onto the bed and kiss her hard, gripping her slender waist?]

[Help me, heavens above! My girl is about to suffer. You evil author, don't you dare torment her! Run! He's about to turn into a monster!!]

[Ahhh!! The male lead is so handsome! I'd marry the crown prince, even if I had to be a concubine~]

But who could have guessed that Lin Yuanqiu, her face usually so cool and composed, would suddenly look at the crown prince with adoration and eager flattery? Her fingers casually brush his chest muscles, and just before he can get angry, she starts singing.

[Dear Crown Prince, you're so handsome, everyone would love you. You're my sweetheart, you're my love, you're my sweet little darling...]

Everyone: ...

Then the audience notices that the crown prince's ears seem to be turning a suspicious shade of red.

At the same time, another heartbreaking tragedy called Trapped Oriole appears out of nowhere, and Li Yining has the bad luck to transmigrate as the male lead's love-struck cannon-fodder wife.

On their wedding night, the male lead, the heir to the Marquis of Wuxuan, lays down the law. "I won't touch you. Marrying you wasn't my choice. As long as you behave from now on and make room for Susu, I won't cause you any trouble."

The comments start pouring in:

[Li Yining is no pushover. Most of the heroine's suffering comes from this vicious, stupid supporting female character!]

[She loves the male lead so much. How could she accept this? Just watch, she'll soon beg him to stay and consummate the marriage, then break down when he refuses!]

[She'll suffer so much in the marquis's household. I can't wait to see her get face-slapped!]

Li Yining glances at the comments and says coldly, "Oh, are you done? I'm going to sleep. You can leave now."

The audience: "...What is going on?!"

Li Yining has a secret: on the fifteenth of every month, she and Lin Yuanqiu switch souls.

They can only see the comments about the other's story, so they have no choice but to shake hands and make peace, at least for now.

The day after their weddings, the two meet.

Li Yining can't stop thinking about the crown prince's impressive chest and firm abs. Blushing shyly, she twists and says, "Your husband feels so good!"

Lin Yuanqiu snorts. "Your husband is useless. It's like he doesn't have a brain."

Later, readers discover that the sinister crown prince is turned into a smug, grinning fool every day by his sweet-talking crown princess, while the Marquis of Wuxuan's heir's wife runs the family's estates and shops to great success, cleans house of every wicked servant, and becomes more precious to the marquis's wife than her own son.

The crown prince has made a startling discovery. He thinks his crown princess has a split personality: for most of the month, her moods are unpredictable. Sometimes she is cold and distant, as if she doesn't know him; at other times, she clings to him like a warm little stove.

At a palace banquet, he feels gloomy and drinks several extra cups. As he sobers up, he suddenly sees the Marquis of Wuxuan's wife speaking with a man. The moment she turns to leave, he hears a familiar tune.

[Dear Censor, you're so handsome, everyone would love you. You're my sweetheart, you're my love, you're my sweet little darling...]

The crown prince: "..."

You had better explain yourselves to me!!!

Advance preview: Five Years After the Divorce. Please add it to your reading list.

[Angst, forbidden passion, messy drama. I regretted divorcing her, only to find someone else got to her first.]

Five years ago, the divorce between Song Nianyin and Wang Yun became the talk of the entire city.

They had been married young and supported each other for ten years. They had only one daughter. Wang Yun loved and protected her, turning down the beautiful concubines his colleagues tried to foist on him and treating her like a treasure. They were a model couple.

Who could have guessed that in their eleventh year of marriage, Wang Yun's old flame would be rekindled? The young woman he fell for was gentle and proper, well-read and courteous, a model of propriety among the noblewomen of Shengjing, with unmatched talent and a distinguished family.

In front of the imperial clan, Song Nianyin berated Wang Yun until he was utterly humiliated, trampling his dignity into the dirt.

Consumed by rage, Wang Yun thought of Song Nianyin's humble country origins and decided she was jealous and vulgar, a shabby first wife who could never measure up. At middle age, who wouldn't want a young, lovely wife, beautiful concubines, and children around them?

Five years after the divorce, the two have not met once.

To curry favor with the century-old aristocratic Xie family, Wang Yun personally sends his daughter, who has just reached adulthood, to their residence. He hopes to impress the old matriarch and win the favor of the Xie family's stunning eldest grandson.

But Xie Ling has always kept his distance from women. His temperament is inscrutable, cool, and refined, yet he is extraordinarily handsome.

At the banquet, Wang Yun learns that his daughter has tricked Xie Ling into drinking an aphrodisiac wine. He is so terrified that his heart nearly stops. He fears his daughter's reputation will be ruined, and that Xie Ling will wake up furious and punish him.

In a panic, he brings a beautiful woman of impeccable background to offer as an "antidote" and apologize. Then he sees it.

A voluptuous, alluring woman is reclining on Xie Ling's bed, one pale, luminous arm lazily looped around the man's broad, solid neck. Her eyes are seductive as silken threads, like a delicate flower soaked in rain. As she gives herself to him, letting out soft, breathless cries, she glances at Wang Yun.

One look is enough to throw Wang Yun into turmoil!

He never expected their first meeting in five years to take place under such circumstances. The flush of desire on her face, the lowered eyes, the soft sip of wine: he knows her better than anyone.

The Xie family of Chen Commandery is a century-old aristocratic clan with overwhelming power.

Born into a top-tier noble house, Xie Ling is the eldest son and legitimate grandson. Upright and composed, with his brilliance kept carefully in check, he holds great power and occupies the highest offices before he is even twenty.

The day he is set up, he intends to coldly dispose of the mastermind. He never expects that woman to throw herself at him. She is soft and alluring as water, with luminous skin and a full, graceful figure. Her slender waist seems as delicate as a length of silk, and her languid posture is pure seduction.

After their night of abandon, the woman slips away.

But Xie Ling is tormented day after day. He can't forget the woman in his dreams, softly pleading and moaning in pleasure.

When Wang Yun sees Song Nianyin again, he realizes how deeply he regrets everything.

He prides himself on his refined literary taste and used to look down on Song Nianyin's sensual nature. To him, her voluptuous, alluring figure was vulgar, as though she were putting on a show. Her uninhibited advances in bed made him think she had no self-respect. Only a proper, aloof noblewoman from a great family was worthy of him.

But five years later, he still comes crawling back to Song Nianyin.

When he sees Song Nianyin rise with flushed cheeks and a seductive expression, another man hidden behind the bed curtains, Wang Yun is consumed by rage and scolds her. "You're every bit the shameless slut I thought you were. Hiding another man is utterly disgraceful. And here I was, thinking of giving you a chance to repent and start over!"

Their daughter, Wang Wanqing, looks at her with equal disdain. "If Father hadn't begged me, I wouldn't have wanted to see you even once. You disgust me! And you even climbed into Xie Ling's bed, when he's the man I love. Stealing your own daughter's sweetheart is shameless. If you ask me, it's practically incest!"

Song Nianyin looks at the heartless father and daughter. Before she can speak, the man behind her calmly gets dressed and steps forward to shield her.

He is stunningly handsome, but his voice is cold and clear.

Xie Ling's gaze darkens. "Is the 'other man' Lord Wang is talking about me?"

Hearing Xie Ling's voice, Wang Yun goes pale and drops to his knees, trembling.

Xie Ling walks over to Wang Wanqing, who is kneeling and begging for mercy, and lifts her chin with his foot. "Ayin is my wife now. If you want to be precise, you should probably call me Father."

*

Theme: After the storm comes sunshine, though it may already be right in front of you