Mistaken Bodhi

★ Romance scammer VS pure-hearted holy monk, angsty and satisfying melodrama, with both sides fighting to possess the other ★ Jialian is a Buddhist prodigy the Great Zhou sees only once in a century. At eighteen, he is already preaching at the Protectorate Temple, admired and praised by all. On the day he enters the palace to lecture the emperor and empress on Buddhist teachings, many princesses blush and their hearts race at the sight of him. All because Jialian is peerlessly handsome. "A man like that must have devoted himself to the Buddha. I wonder what kind of woman could make him fall for her?" the princesses sigh. The only one missing from the gathering is Zhao Ruyi. Not long afterward, word gets around that the holy monk Jialian has become a guest in Princess Zhao Ruyi's bedchamber. Everyone sighs again: The eldest princess truly is the most beautiful woman under heaven. Even the holy monk has fallen at her feet. * * * * No one knows how Jialian ended up in the eldest princess's residence. He was tricked. He may be a holy monk, but he is a man first. He took Zhao Ruyi's innocence. An aphrodisiac is easy to undo. A debt of passion is hard to repay. The beautiful eldest princess waits outside his meditation room every day, tender and forlorn, hoping he'll turn and look her way. Jialian would give his life to guide her to enlightenment, but he cannot return her affection. And yet... the more he hears her call his name, the more the Buddha in his heart grows indistinct. Just as he begins to sink into the woman's tender affection, the truth is suddenly laid bare. The noble, bewitching eldest princess looks down at him from her lofty position and says mockingly, "It was only a game. Goodbye, my Buddha." The tenderness he thought they shared was only a trap the woman had carefully laid. Only then does Jialian realize that he has already fallen into hell. * * * * The coup fails, and the eldest princess Zhao Ruyi becomes a prisoner. The holy monk she once cast aside like trash now stands before her, long hair bound up beneath a crown and bloodlust all around him. Zhao Ruyi knows how deeply he hates her. She asks only, "Why don't you kill me?" The man has lost the detachment he once had from all worldly concerns. Obsession and madness mingle in his eyes. He speaks hoarsely into her ear. "Your Highness, our game... has only just begun." Reading Notes: 1. This is a fictional setting and does not allude to any real person or religion. The monk is simply the male lead's profession in this imaginary world. 2. The heroine plays the villain. She seems like a lovesick, empty-headed beauty, but she's actually career-minded, and she has loved someone before. This is an angsty, melodramatic story with a little angst for the male lead. 3. Both leads are each other's only partners. One-on-one romance. The heroine has many lovers, but she neither sleeps with them nor falls in love with them. Coming soon: The Elder Princess The eldest princess Zhao Nong was once the most envied woman under heaven. Born into poverty, she protected her master as a child and helped the young emperor seize the throne. In return, he acknowledged her as his elder sister and made her a princess. From then on, she held a position of unparalleled distinction. Rumor had it that the young emperor respected her deeply. He dined with her at set times every day, entrusted her with all the affairs of the harem, and even let her oversee the selection of consorts. What's more, she was engaged to the great general. They had loved each other since they were young, and their love ran deep. All Zhao Nong had to do was wait for him to return from battle, then marry him and live happily ever after. But that was all in the past. No one expected that on her wedding day, dressed in her bridal robes, she would receive not her beloved, but news of his death. The noble eldest princess resolutely performed the wedding rites with her husband's memorial tablet and became a widow before she had even entered her husband's family. After the ghost wedding, rumors spread that the princess had been mistreated by her husband's family. The young emperor couldn't bear to see his sister suffer, so he brought her back to the palace. But the princess wept day and night, and her grief ruined her health. She died suddenly, to everyone's regret. Not long afterward, a beautiful woman appeared in the harem out of nowhere. She became the emperor's favorite, and from the moment he had her, he stopped visiting the other consorts' palaces. * * * For Zhao Xuan, winning his elder sister took only three steps: Step one: Eliminate the one she loves. Step two: Comfort her and claim her body under the guise of being her closest relative. Step three: Lower himself, soften her heart, and take his time winning her over. Everything was going according to plan. But just as he reached the final step, the man who should have died on the battlefield suddenly returned. Theme: Life's meaning lies in striving.