Folding the Tang Blossoms

[Faux Siblings]

Xie Chutang's mother was falsely accused and sentenced to death. For eight years, she endured life in the Cold Palace alone with her younger brother. At last, the truth came to light, and she was honored as a princess.

She was born with skin like ice and bones like jade, beautiful as a celestial maiden. Her gentle, dignified bearing was widely praised, yet no one ever came to ask for her hand in marriage.

The reason was that her unrelated younger brother had suddenly gone mad on the eve of their departure from the Cold Palace.

The imperial physicians concluded that Xie Yanchi's mind was now that of a child of eight or nine, and that he was extremely dependent on Xie Chutang.

He followed her everywhere, never letting go, ruining one marriage prospect after another.

Everyone urged her to get rid of this burden, and Xie Chutang had wavered too.

But whenever she saw Xie Yanchi blink his pure, spotless eyes and snuggle obediently against her chest as he called her "Elder Sister," she could never bring herself to do it.

She continued to cherish and love him. She even arranged a marriage for herself behind his back, willing to marry beneath her station in exchange for a life of wealth and comfort for him.

Amid the red candles and wedding curtains, Xie Chutang's heart had turned to ash. She closed her moist eyes, calm and despairing.

After waiting for a long time without anything happening, she suddenly saw Xie Yanchi gallop toward the bridal chamber and sweep aside her red veil.

Xie Yanchi held her captive in his arms. His smile was still guileless, but his gaze was as dark and deep as an abyss.

He gently bit her neck and asked in a husky voice:

"Elder Sister, who else do you want to marry?"

*

Xie Yanchi was an orphan, left to wander the streets. Through a twist of fate, he saved Xie Chutang and became an adopted son of the imperial family.

With an elder sister, he was no longer a stray dog.

The eight years in the Cold Palace were the hardest, yet he bore them willingly.

Because his elder sister belonged to him alone.

Xie Yanchi had planned, countless times, for a bright and open future beyond the palace. Then, on the night her name was cleared, everyone tried to separate him from his elder sister, and he changed his mind for good.

He had never been willing to let anyone put shackles on him. But if that person was Xie Chutang, he would place the chains in her hands himself.

All she had to do was call, and he would follow her for the rest of his life.

1. Both leads are virgins; happy ending.

2. The heroine is not a brother-obsessed sister. The hero keeps up his act in the early part of the story, but his true nature is revealed later.

3. The leads are not related by blood, and their romance begins after their sibling relationship ends.

Theme: He submits to her alone.