Hidden Treasures in the Eastern Palace

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Mischievous young noblewoman x aloof, restrained, ascetic crown prince

[Fatherly hero who cleans up her messes every day, with a rivalry between brothers]

Pei Youyi was the only daughter of the Duke of Qi. With her pretty face and powerful family behind her, she ran wild through Bianjing.

Then one day, the Duke of Qi was imprisoned for an offense, and Pei Youyi was implicated. Just as she waited to learn her fate, news came from the palace: she had been chosen to take the calamity in the crown prince's place.

The whole business was ridiculous. And with the duke fallen out of favor, her life in the palace became miserable, too.

The crown prince, Zhao Xun, who shared the Eastern Palace with her, was taciturn and cold. He was extremely difficult to get along with.

Everyone thought that, entering the Eastern Palace under such circumstances, Pei Youyi was in for a hard time.

Instead, she raised a commotion in the palace school, acting even more brazenly than before.

Everyone then assumed that if she kept making trouble, the crown prince would soon grow sick of her. But who could have guessed...

Every time Pei Youyi caused a stir, the crown prince personally stepped in to settle things.

As he kept taking the blows for her, the crown prince became emperor, and Pei Youyi became empress.

Zhao Xun brought Pei Youyi back from the imperial school. Her offense that day was getting into a scuffle with a young lady from the Duke of Qing's household.

Pei Youyi's eyes were red, and she cried with three parts sincerity and seven parts pretense. Tears slid down her cheeks as she held out her hand. There was a faint red mark on its back, barely visible.

The crown prince frowned as he studied her for a while. The next day, he went in person to the Duke of Qing's residence.

The following day, to everyone's astonishment, the Duke of Qing's daughter apologized to Pei Youyi. Pei Youyi had no idea why the girl had suddenly changed her tune, and thought she must have beaten her into submission.

From afar, Zhao Xun watched the scene and shook his head helplessly, though his eyes were full of affection.

Before you read:

1. Both are inexperienced, one-on-one, with a touch of a nurturing dynamic.

2. An imaginary dynasty modeled on the Song. Historical accuracy is not the focus.

4. Five-year age gap.

5. Every reader's preferences deserve respect. If it's not for you, don't be hurtful.

[Coming soon: Spring Branches]

Innocent, pampered princess x taciturn general

Yinyin first met Xiao Jue at the Prince of Qin's residence.

At the time, her father was still a prince of the imperial clan. One day, she lost a sachet and was searching all over the courtyard when she came across her father's retainers waiting outside the study to be summoned.

Across the courtyard, Yinyin spotted a man in black. He stood a head taller than everyone else, his hands behind his back and his posture exceptionally straight. It was impossible not to notice him.

The retainers bowed and greeted her as the commandery princess. Yinyin merely nodded, then hurried off without even looking for her sachet.

Only once she had reached an empty spot did she let out a breath and pat her chest.

The man in black had been staring at her the whole time. His brows slanted into his temples, his phoenix eyes seemed rimmed with frost, and he looked at her as though he wanted to eat her alive.

At the time, Yinyin didn't know his name.

Later, her father became emperor, and as a princess, Yinyin was to be married to the General Who Pacified the North, a man who had helped her father seize the throne.

Her face was covered by a red veil, and her tears had long since ruined her makeup.

She had wanted to marry a refined young nobleman, not a crude soldier!

Only later did Yinyin learn that this General Who Pacified the North was Xiao Jue, the man in black who had stared at her at the prince's residence.

It was only later that she understood that, in a chaotic age of warring powers, Xiao Jue was the only person she could rely on. He alone could protect her and her father's throne.

-

In truth, Yinyin remembered it wrong. The first time she and Xiao Jue saw each other wasn't when they glimpsed one another across the courtyard.

Xiao Jue still remembered the first time he saw Yinyin.

It was his first visit to the Prince of Qin. The flower festival had just ended, but Yinyin had been sick and unable to attend. Once she recovered, she made a fuss about dressing up as Guanyin in the residence.

The Prince of Qin naturally refused. After arguing in his study for a while, he finally sent his daughter out.

So Yinyin, dressed in white with a dot of vermilion between her brows, stormed out of the Prince of Qin's study, lifting her skirts as she went. She passed right by Xiao Jue, who was waiting in the corridor to be summoned.

At the sight of Yinyin's jade-like face, Xiao Jue's heart stirred. From then on, whenever he visited the residence, he kept an eye on what Yinyin was doing.

He saw Yinyin fly kites in spring. He saw her seek shade by the lake in summer. In autumn, she would stand beneath a tree, melancholy over the falling leaves. When heavy snow came in winter, she would take her maids out to admire the snow and play.

Later, when the meritorious were rewarded, Yinyin was to be married to Shi Qi, the son of the Minister of Justice. Xiao Jue pressured the emperor to rescind the order and marry Yinyin to him instead, using his achievement of taking six cities in ten days as leverage.

Of course, Yinyin knew none of this on their wedding night.

She thought Xiao Jue was a clumsy soldier and that she would never know a moment of happiness again.

But a few months later, gauze curtains billowed in the princess's bedroom, and broken sounds escaped through the gaps.

Xiao Jue brought Yinyin a pleasure she had never expected.

Theme: Keep persevering and face life bravely, and in the end, a new path will open up.