Mistakenly Seeking the Emperor

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The downfall of the wicked consort brought to light a secret from eighteen years ago: Princess Xiangyang, the Empress's legitimate daughter, was actually a fake princess, switched at birth in a case of mistaken identities.

When Princess Li Xiangyi of Xiangyang woke up, she found that she had become a fake princess whom everyone in the palace avoided. Meanwhile, the real prince was receiving the court's homage.

In her dream, the new emperor imprisoned her in his bedroom and indulged himself with her day after day, until she became pregnant. Then the Empress forced a bowl of medicine down her throat, and she died.

After thinking it over, Li Xiangyi decided that the only person who might be able to protect her was the current emperor's ninth younger brother, Prince Jing, Li Che.

When she was little, she often played on her Ninth Uncle's lap. Back then, the young man had been unable to resist her pestering and could only hold her while he read and wrote. Surely, given their bond, her Ninth Uncle would save her life?

"Xiang'er begs Ninth Uncle to protect her."

The man, as ethereal as an immortal, gazed at the increasingly lovely face before him. He lifted her chin with his folding fan. "Ninth Uncle watched Xiang'er grow up. Of course I won't stand by and do nothing."

But when she saw the dragon tattoo running from Ninth Uncle's abdomen down his thigh while they were in bed, she realized that this was the very dragon that had haunted her nightmares every night. The new emperor who imprisoned her in the dream had not been the Crown Prince. It had been him.

She had walked straight into a trap.

Li Xiangyi plotted her escape and headed south to Yangzhou. The moment she got off the boat, the man waiting for her caught her red-handed.

Li Che looked at the handsome young man beside her, smiling with a knife in his eyes. "Xiang'er, you've had your fun. It's time to come home with Ninth Uncle."

P.S.

1. The dream is from a past life. The blurb is from the heroine's perspective, but some details are inaccurate.

2. One-on-one romance, both leads are each other's first.

3. The protagonists are flawed.

4. The setting is entirely fictional.

Upcoming historical novel: "Stealing a Peach"

Zhu Yingshi had only just turned fifteen when she was hurriedly sent off in a carriage to the capital, where she would stay with her maternal aunt, the wife of the heir to the Marquis of Ding'an.

Her mother wanted her to spend some time with her cousin so they could arrange the wedding. Her father had died early, leaving her and her mother alone in the world. They needed someone to rely on.

Although she and her cousin hadn't seen each other in a long time, they had kept in touch by letter. When they met, she found that he was nothing like she remembered.

Zhu Yingshi assumed she had simply been too young back then and confused her memories.

The marquis's residence was crowded and full of rules. Zhu Yingshi kept a low profile and minded her manners, afraid that a mistake on her part might bring trouble to her aunt.

One day, she met the illegitimate cousin who had been acknowledged by her aunt. He had sharp brows and bright eyes, with an otherworldly, handsome face. Although he wore a cold expression, he looked a little like the person in her memories.

Later, Zhu Yingshi worked up the courage to hug the man from behind and ask, "Brother Jin, is that you? It's me, Wanyan."

All she got in response was a chilly, "Cousin, you've mistaken me for someone else."

Jin, the Crown Prince's grandson, was brilliant from childhood, with extraordinary talent, and deeply beloved by the Emperor. The maternal relatives held power, and the Crown Prince died unjustly. Jin was imprisoned in the imperial mausoleum for life, never to leave.

Three years later, the Marquis of Ding'an's household gained an illegitimate son, Pei Jingchuan. He placed first in the imperial examinations, and the Emperor took a liking to him because he bore some resemblance to Jin, the Crown Prince's grandson.

After all, this illegitimate son was technically Jin's cousin. It was only natural that they should look somewhat alike.

When Pei Jingchuan returned from accompanying the Emperor on a tour of the south, he found an unfamiliar young woman in the household. She had a lovely, delicate face and was breathtakingly beautiful.

He frightened her terribly the first time they met. When he asked her name, he learned that she was the girl he'd been engaged to when they were young. If fate hadn't intervened, they would be at an age to marry now.

But his situation was dangerous, and his future uncertain. He couldn't give her a stable life. It would be better for her to marry his cousin and live out her days in peace.

They were simply never meant to be.

When the young woman, feverish and in tears, clutched his clothes and called him "Brother Jin," Pei Jingchuan knew he would never be able to hand her over to another man.

So be it. Protecting one more woman was hardly a burden. She was born to be his Crown Princess, destined to sit beside him and rule the realm.

Upcoming novel: "Jade in a Cage"

Su Ruofu, the most celebrated legitimate daughter in the capital, caught the Emperor's eye. The very next day, an imperial decree naming her a consort arrived at the Su residence.

The Emperor was debauched. He followed the example of those before him and built a pleasure garden of wine and flesh in the palace, spending his days indulging himself.

Su Ruofu was the most radiant hibiscus blossom on its branch. Sending her into the palace was no different from destroying a flower. Everyone in the capital lamented her fate.

Afterward, whenever people mentioned the beauty, famed for both her talent and her looks, all they could say was, "What a shame."

Su Ruofu moved through the palace like a walking corpse. Though she was exceptionally beautiful, she soon fell out of favor and could only hope to spend the rest of her life there.

The rebel army seized the palace. Qin Jiuyuan led his officials south, leaving all the women of the harem kneeling at his feet, their lives in his hands.

Impatient, Qin Jiuyuan glanced at the sea of women and waved a hand. "Send them out of the palace. Let them all go home."

A woman's profile flashed through the corner of his eye. In that instant, the new Emperor raised his riding crop. "You. Stay."

Su Ruofu raised her head, and her gaze met the man on horseback.

She knew then that the freedom she had been so close to grasping was gone.

Having experienced both joy and misery, Su Ruofu was determined to leave the new Emperor, who was said to be just as cruel, with no good impression of her.

If he said something she disliked, she slapped him and buried her face in the bedding so he couldn't look at her.

If he was too rough, she left bite marks on his neck and scratched his back until it was impossible to show in public.

If he broke a promise, she would kick him out of the bedroom, even in the middle of the night.

But the young Emperor turned out to be like a stubborn stray dog who couldn't be driven away.

When she slapped him, he held her hand and blew on it gently. "Does your hand hurt, Ruofu?"

When she bit him, he cradled her face and examined it closely. "Careful, Ruofu. Don't hurt your teeth."

When she kicked him out, he held her and coaxed her softly. "Ruofu, you're too delicate. How could you sleep without me?"

The whole court watched the spectacle, waiting to see how long the discarded consort from the previous dynasty would remain in favor, and what would happen to Su Ruofu once she fell out of it.

But as they watched, Su Ruofu became Empress, enjoying the Emperor's exclusive favor for decades.

Theme: You have to fight for your own fate.