The Chief Minister Regrets It Too Late

When Xin Rao was ten and on the verge of death, Lu Zhi took her in. She became his only personal maid.

Lu Zhi was handsome as jade and cold as snow. Countless daughters of prestigious families tried every means to get close to him, but none could. Only Xin Rao could attend him day and night.

Everyone in the capital knew that Lu Zhi treated Xin Rao exceptionally well. As time went by, even Xin Rao came to believe it.

Until she heard that Lu Zhi had a childhood sweetheart, the woman he had always cherished. Their birth dates and times matched exactly. Her heart gave a faint, involuntary flutter...

But matching birth dates didn't mean anything...

Until Lu Zhi's cousin dragged her hysterically to a residence and sneered, "You're nothing but a blood vessel the Chancellor found to save my sister. Do you really think he cares about you?"

Xin Rao didn't understand what she meant. But when a golden needle pierced her heart and her blood began to flow drop by drop, she watched Lu Zhi with reddened eyes, her heart breaking.

The divine physician's grave voice rang in her ears. "If we stop now, Miss Xin Rao will be fine, but Miss Wang will certainly die."

Trapped in endless pain, Xin Rao couldn't move. Her mind was barely clear, but her bloodshot eyes remained fixed on Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi's face was tense, his eyes heavy. He looked away from her and spoke in a low, weighted voice. "Continue."

So from the very beginning, this deep affection had been part of a carefully laid plan. In the end, it had all been nothing but a dream of hers... Xin Rao closed her eyes, unable even to muster the strength to cry.

Later:

Her senior brother took Xin Rao to the capital to practice medicine. She heard that the Lord of the Big Dipper had fallen gravely ill and gone mad after losing a maid, and she shuddered.

Her senior brother said, "Stay away from him."

Xin Rao clutched her life and nodded like a pecking chick. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

So when she was on her way to see the Princess Consort and passed through the garden during a banquet, the Lord of the Big Dipper suddenly rushed up and embraced her. Terrified, she used a golden needle to strike his pressure points.

Scolding erupted throughout the garden, and soldiers swarmed in to surround her.

As she trembled in alarm, she heard him shout in fury, "How dare you!"

Everyone dropped to their knees...

A graceful young gentleman came through the crowd and drew Xin Rao into his arms. He nodded to Lu Zhi with a smile. "Chancellor, she is my fiancee. She is new here and has been discourteous. I hope you'll forgive her."

Safe in her fiance's arms, Xin Rao watched the chief minister turn deathly pale, looking utterly devastated and almost pitiful...

A few things to know before reading:

The leads are seven years apart in age.

Since the heroine is a maid at the beginning, there will be some scheming among the maids.

The heroine doesn't realize she's in love. At first, she sincerely sees the hero as her master. The hero falls for her first.

After losing his memory, the heroine's fiance really is her fiance...

New story, I Only Learned He Loved Someone Else on Our Wedding Night, is now available! ^O^

[Arranged marriage, then romance; face-slapping, jealous pursuit, and a long road to winning her back]

The beautiful and charming Princess Yu He is getting married. Her groom is Pei Yuze, heir to the foremost of the Four Great Houses. Pei Yuze is dignified and composed, with an impressive bearing. He is the ideal son-in-law whom even the most distinguished families would not dare aspire to marry.

He is also the man Yu He has kept in her heart for nine years.

She waited and longed for this day. At last, on their wedding night, she was ready to give Pei Yuze everything she had.

But what she heard instead was a maid's voice: "Young Master, Miss Yuci is having another episode."

In the dim candlelight, Yu He finally learned that he already loved someone else.

The day after the wedding, she met Yuci, a delicate beauty whose tears gathered before she even spoke. Yu He failed to catch the tea Yuci held out. The scalding tea burned Yuci's hand, and Yu He's own hand was burned too.

Pei Yuze's expression darkened. His eyes were full of resentment and disgust.

Yu He endured one humiliation after another for him. She even put aside her royal status to cook for him, but in the end, all her efforts came to nothing.

She had never meant to hurt Yuci. But that day, she was so angry that she accidentally pushed Yuci down a slope. Blood poured from her wound.

Pei Yuze rushed over and looked up at her, his sword-like brows drawn together, his eyes dark.

Before the assembled members of the clan, he stood with his hands behind his back, his expression grim. "The princess is spoiled and willful. Send her to Guifeng Convent to reflect in seclusion."

For over a month, Pei Yuze never came to see her. Yu He's heart turned cold, and she felt she might as well be dead.

On the day Yu He returned, Pei Yuze was presiding over a trial before the Three Judicial Offices. The moment he saw her, he lost his composure and left the court.

When he hurried home, he found Yu He standing gracefully, with her luggage piled in the courtyard. She said casually, "Let's divorce."

Pei Yuze froze. It felt as if a hole had been smashed into the top of his skull and molten iron poured in. After a long while, he forced out one word through clenched teeth: "Fine."

Later, at a palace banquet, he saw the little princess laughing and chatting happily with her cousin, her hairpin tilting askew as she laughed. Her cousin reached out to straighten it for her...

He heard her say, "In six months, once we're divorced... I'll publicly choose a husband. I'll pick a consort who's considerate and suits me!"

A sharp pang suddenly pierced his heart. The rose hidden in his sleeve was crushed in two.

Before reading:

The hero is twenty, and the heroine is sixteen.

The second female lead is not the hero's love interest.

The leads are each other's only romantic partners, emotionally and physically.

The Four Great Houses, Pei, Duan, Jin, and Chai, are exceptionally prestigious, powerful, and wealthy. They stand together, and emperors throughout the ages have only won the struggle for the throne with their support.

Theme: Stand firm in your convictions, and never forget your original intentions.