The Substitute Husband Ran Away While Pregnant (Matriarchal Society)

The new novel, Little Concubine (Women-Worshipping World), is updating now. Come and read it! He was nothing more than a substitute for the beloved of the Emperor, the supreme ruler of the realm. Xiang Wan knew it perfectly well. He had never dared to dream of claiming even a fraction of the Emperor's affection from that man, who shone like the bright moon. He did his duty and played the role of someone who had long since disappeared. His laughter and anger, his love and hatred, every one of them was a reflection of that person. Even before entering the palace, the Xiang family had raised him as a fake young master to stand in for their own beloved son. Then the real young master, as radiant as the moon, was found and brought home. Xiang Wan was driven out for plotting against the legitimate heir and sent to the entertainment quarter. That day, the Emperor's golden carriage stopped outside the Fragrant Pavilion. Xie Yaoqing gripped his chin and scrutinized him like a rare, precious piece of porcelain. She said, "Looking even a little like him is the greatest blessing you could ever have." Xiang Wan gazed at her handsome, valiant face and thought she was right. Xiang Wan had thought that for the rest of his life, he would be confined to the palace, following in her footsteps like a shadow and treasuring her love for someone else as if it were his own. It was only when Xie Yaoqing used the full power of the realm to find that sliver of moonlight that Xiang Wan understood. In Xie Yaoqing's eyes, Xiang Xi was a ray of light in the darkest days of her life, a tender, moonlit presence by her pillow. And Xiang Wan was no more than a shadow beneath that light, the dust and grime beneath her feet. Xiang Wan thought, It doesn't matter. I never asked for much. If she would only look at me once in a while, that would be enough. Until, amid searing pain, he learned from that beloved moonlight how to be ruthless. Xiang Wan looked at the indifference in Xie Yaoqing's eyes, and his heart turned to ash. He escaped that gilded prison, planning to spend the rest of his days in the watery towns of Jiangnan. But the supreme ruler stopped him in a narrow alley. She gripped his waist and stroked his slowly swelling belly, her eyes dark and menacing. In terror, Xiang Wan saw the blood dripping from the sword at her waist. Caught on it was a torn, bloodstained piece of clothing. It was the Phoenix Consort's ceremonial robe. In all the vast Zhou dynasty, only that bright, moonlike beloved could wear it. Only then did he realize that the moonlight Xie Yaoqing had spent her whole life searching for was, in fact, him. Xiang Wan becomes the bright moon, its clear light shining on you alone. She had gone mad. Xie Yaoqing knew it all too well. Once, she thought only Xiang Xi could bring her a moment's peace. Later, she realized that wasn't true. It turned out that the person she had spent her whole life desperately searching for was the cure she needed. But it was too late. A ruthless, brooding mad empress x a puppy who wags his tail the moment you beckon Reader's Guide: 1. The heroine is a woman who has had sex; the hero is a virgin. The heroine is a workaholic who is completely unhinged. 2. The heroine has terrible eyesight and mistook the wrong person for her beloved moonlight. The hero is the fake young master, and the real beloved moonlight. I'm my own substitute. 3. The hero is a puppy who just wags his tail and begs to be petted, no matter what the heroine does. There is a groveling arc, but not much, since puppies don't hold grudges~ 4. The heroine's mental state is absolutely dazzling. She could get an official psychiatric evaluation, so don't expect too much from her, orz. 5. A women-worshipping world with male pregnancy; the pregnancy plot includes author-invented details. --------Coming soon: The Court's Golden Oriole (Women-Worshipping World). Synopsis below-------- Cui Tang, a male actor in Yangzhou, took off his undershirt and climbed into the bed of the all-powerful Third Miss Mu for ten taels of silver. He became her kept lover, a golden oriole she raised in a cage. The Third Miss Mu's full name was Mu Nianbai, and she was one of the most powerful people in Yangzhou. Some said she was the illegitimate daughter of Yangzhou's richest family, the Mus. Others said she was a bastard born when a Mu household consort had an affair. Still others claimed she was a hidden dragon, the one true imperial daughter of the Great Jing, concealed in the Mu residence by the royal family to protect her from danger. Cui Tang paid no attention to the rumors. He knew only that if Third Miss Mu took a dislike to him, then he and his younger sister, who was still in school, would never again get those ten taels of silver, or have a place to stay. They would become two stray dogs, chased and bullied by anyone who pleased. All Cui Tang wanted was to win Third Miss Mu's heart, so she would let a little more silver slip through her fingers. Then, when he grew old and lost his looks, he would still have someone to rely on. Cui Tang thought, One wants money, the other wants beauty. They're simply getting what they need from each other. There's nothing romantic about it. That was until he found himself carrying that woman's child, while the all-powerful Third Miss Mu vanished without a trace on her way to the capital on business. People said she was dead. Cui Tang knew it was time to find himself a new patron. Three years later, the newly appointed Crown Princess was stationed in Yangzhou, her power and influence beyond compare. The newly widowed Cui Tang brought along his toddler, who had only just learned to walk, and went to beg Song Haowen, a powerful aide to the Crown Princess, for ten taels of silver. He knelt before Lord Song and slowly loosened his robes. Lord Song was so terrified he nearly knocked his head on the ground. He hurriedly took Cui Tang to the Crown Princess, second only to the Emperor in all of Great Jing. The layers of curtains before them slowly parted. Cui Tang's face turned deathly pale. Mu Nianbai, dead for three years, curved her lips into a faint smile. Through a layer of gauze, she stroked his willow-slim waist. Mu Nianbai chuckled softly. "Little oriole, if you take off your clothes, who are you hoping will see?" For the first time in his life, Cui Tang learned what it meant to be "tormented." Reader's Guide: 1. The heroine is a woman who has had sex, and the hero is a virgin. The heroine is a scumbag early on, and not much better later (. 2. The hero only ever loves the heroine. He marries someone else midway through the story and later seduces one of her subordinates only because his situation is so desperate he can't survive otherwise. 3. As above, the hero marries someone else midway through the story to stay alive. He explains the situation to the other person, who is a good-hearted soul and accepts everything. There are no feelings or actual marital relations between them, and they hardly even see each other. 4. The little tagalong is the heroine's child. Theme: Live well