Sister-in-Law to the Emperor

My next book is "My Husband Doesn't Understand Romance." The blurb is below.

Blurb for this book: The Xiao family brought their second daughter, who had been living outside the household, back home.

Not long after she returned, the emperor arranged her marriage to the third prince.

Outsiders said the Second Miss was graceful and elegant, every inch a noble young lady. She and the third prince were a perfect match, both talented and beautiful.

Little did they know that the third prince was gravely ill, and the imperial physicians had declared he would not live more than a month. Xiao Shuyuan had been brought back to the household to take her elder sister's place as his bride.

Sure enough, on the tenth day after Xiao Shuyuan married the third prince, he died, leaving her a widow. She had nothing but the title of princess consort, and was treated with contempt. People in the palace pointed at her and mocked her behind her back, calling her a bringer of bad luck.

In the first year of Jinghe, the widowed third princess consort had an affair and became pregnant.

The empress dowager was furious and interrogated her about her conduct. Who was her lover?

Xiao Shuyuan said nothing and only begged to die.

Her elder sister brought her a cup of poisoned wine at the empress dowager's command, to end both her life and her child's.

Xiao Shuyin stood outside with a flask of wine, smiling smugly.

Behind the screen, a tall, straight-backed man emerged, tugging at his gold-thread-embroidered sleeve. He swept his gaze over the room, and Xiao Shuyin's face changed. She immediately fell to her knees.

"Y-Your Majesty."

-

The new emperor, Helan Ting, appeared gentle and elegant, but was ruthless and cruel within.

No one knew how dark his heart was. On countless nights, he held the widowed woman captive in his arms.

He toyed with her fingertips and spoke slowly, wearing a faint, teasing smile. "Why didn't you wait for me yesterday? Are you afraid of me?"

Reader advisory:

1: 1V1, both leads are virgins, five-year age gap. Neither lead is perfect.

2: Probably a forceful romance, though I'm not sure. Please be gentle. Read or leave as you please.

3: My writing is improving, so don't expect too much.

4: Intimate scenes only happen after their family ties have been severed.

-----Upcoming book: "My Husband Doesn't Understand Romance"

At the Qionghua Banquet, the noble young women kept sneaking glances at the jade-faced, refined and distinguished eldest son of the Xie family. They whispered among themselves and blushed, but none dared stare openly.

Shen Shuyao was different. She gazed at him bashfully all night, so much so that even her mother noticed.

Madam Shen: "So she really does have someone she likes. It turns out to be the eldest son of the Xie family."

The next day, the emperor arranged a marriage between the Xie and Shen families.

-

Xie Yi devoted himself to politics. Romance meant little to him. Since the emperor had arranged the marriage, he would marry her.

After the wedding, the two lived together in harmony and peace. She managed his household and took care of domestic affairs, making her a capable mistress of the home.

Xie Yi believed what others told him: Shen Shuyao loved him deeply and had admired him even before the Qionghua Banquet.

He listened without changing expression, but a ripple stirred in his heart.

A year after their marriage, however, he happened to see her diary and learned that at the Qionghua Banquet, she had not been looking at him, nor had she admired him. She had been looking at his second younger brother.

Xie Yi clenched his fist until the back of his hand turned white.

-

After a month of cold war, Xie Yi waited for her to come to him and make peace. Instead, he saw her smile. "My marriage to Xie Yi was a misunderstanding from the start. Since that's the case, why don't we divorce and go our separate ways, rather than waste each other's time?"

Unfortunately, before she could send out the divorce papers, she lost her memory.

The physician took her pulse and congratulated her with a beaming smile. "Congratulations! You're pregnant."

Shen Shuyao frowned and asked the maid beside her, "Whose child is it?"

The physician wiped away his sweat. This was bad. He'd just overheard a scandalous family secret.

Outside the door, the man's expression went from sunny to stormy. He pushed the door open with a sinister look.

----Upcoming book: "Marrying the Tyrannical Crown Prince After Divorce"

Zhang Yuanxi had been married to Wei Yan'an for seven years. They treated each other with respect but had no love between them, and had a lovely son. She was dignified and proper, managed the household, and was praised by outsiders as a gentle, virtuous wife.

But that did not stop Wei Yan'an from finding her tiresome and annoying, and eventually growing bored enough to abandon her.

Wei Yan'an: "Let's get divorced. I'm tired of you."

After seven years of marriage, their life had become stagnant and passionless. He was tired of it.

Zhang Yuanxi knew he had brought back the woman he had always longed for and was keeping her in an outer residence. She was silent for a moment, then calmly replied with a single word: "Fine."

That night, she was reborn eight years in the past.

-

Back then, Zhang Yuanxi was the darling of heaven. Her father asked what kind of young man she liked.

Unlike in her previous life, she did not point to Wei Yan'an. Instead, she turned her head and pointed at the pitiful figure in the corner. "Him."

Everyone's expression changed. Wei Yan'an was stunned, too. The man's status was lowly: his mother was a palace maid, and he was the most neglected of the princes.

He had no chance of becoming crown prince.

But Zhang Yuanxi knew that Shen Qianyu was sinister, violent, and unpredictable, and that he would seize the position of crown prince through brutality.

The pitiful young man glanced over at her warily, as if gritting his teeth.

Oh, she suddenly remembered. She might have pushed Shen Qianyu into the water yesterday.

Shen Qianyu: "What are you trying to do now?"

"I want to marry you. Do you believe me?"

Better to marry the future crown prince than to become a minister's wife.

-

Though Shen Qianyu was a prince, he had grown up in the cold palace. He had seen how fickle people could be and learned what it took to survive, becoming coldhearted and violent.

He did not believe that the person who had pushed him into the water the day before and mocked him for Wei Yan'an's sake would want to marry him.

After their wedding, Shen Qianyu remained on his guard, ignored her, and occasionally showed his contempt for her.

But when he saw Wei Yan'an come to visit her and the two of them walk off into the night together, he still panicked.

Shen Qianyu: If Zhang Yuanxi betrays me, I'll kill Wei Yan'an.

Theme: Keep love in your heart