Qiniang

Su Yeqi was a noblewoman of the Su family. Raised amid a life of lavish banquets and fine living, she carried herself with effortless composure, every lowered gaze and lifted chin exuding an air of innate nobility.

But she had schemed to acquire all of it.

In truth, she was a beggar raised by a consumptive.

Her past was a secret the Su family must never learn. To protect it, she was willing to kill and hide the body.

She wasn't afraid of killing, until she realized she had lost the bloodstained handkerchief...

She could never return to a life with nothing but a broken bowl. To save herself, she struck a deal with the man who found the bloodstained handkerchief.

Prince An, Xiao Yanxing, was a man of inscrutable schemes and unrestrained temperament. The Su family had warned Su Yeqi to keep her distance from him.

That night, he sat alone in a pavilion as a gauzy curtain fluttered in the breeze. He picked up the plain handkerchief the woman had dropped in her haste. Its bloodstains were still wet.

Oh? A daughter of the Su family. Naturally, she should be put to good use.

But later...

"When I have achieved my ambitions, would you be willing to manage the imperial harem for me, Lady Qi?"

She remained as composed and calm as she had been when she made a deal with him all those years ago.

"Lady Qi, please ascend the throne!"

Her eyelashes fluttered. Her eyes were clear and cold.

"Lady Qi, do you truly have no heart?" The man who had always strategized and orchestrated every move was deeply wounded.

When she first entered the world, all she had was a broken bowl. She was terrified of losing it.

Later, she crossed through the tender illusion of worldly pleasures and stood in the storm-darkened imperial city, witnessing grand households collapse with a roar, their candles extinguished and incense gone cold.

She was no longer afraid.

Her path had long since left that broken bowl behind. It now stretched ten thousand miles beneath her fingertips, never to be extinguished.

[Reading Guide]

1. The dynasty is fictional. The female lead will become emperor.

2. Both leads are virgins.

Coming Soon: She Returned to the Palace in the Third Year of Chengqian

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Without her, Li Jun would have been an emperor remembered through the ages.

He was mature beyond his years and had never once made a misstep.

His only act of reckless defiance came when, still Crown Prince, he took up his sword and forced the old emperor to execute Consort Dong.

That year, the entire Dong family was put to death, and Consort Dong was sentenced to die.

That same year, the old emperor finally breathed his last, and amid cries of "Long live the emperor," Li Jun ascended the throne and took the era name Chengqian.

In the third year of Chengqian, Li Jun went to the imperial mausoleum to pay respects to his ancestors, as required by protocol.

That day, the young emperor, who had no interest in women, brought a lamp attendant back to the palace against his ministers' objections.

Qinghe was a lamp attendant. That day, she encountered a man who had come to offer incense.

He was the man before whom all the world bowed. Her heart raced uncontrollably.

She thought that following him into the palace marked the beginning of a love shared by both.

Until, at the height of their passion, he breathed against her ear and called her "Mingyuan."

Her wildly beating heart went cold.

A gust of wind blew away her veil.

The empress dowager saw her face and nearly collapsed in shock. "Dong... Mingyuan, you're not dead?!"

Li Jun shielded her behind him, his voice icy. "Guards! Escort the empress dowager back to the palace."

And she silently pulled free of Li Jun's hand, an image flashing before her eyes: a woman tilting back her head to drink poison.

Premise: Always stand for justice, and always keep kindness in your heart