Golden Jade Entwined with Branches

[Complete]

[Upcoming books: Scheming for My Childhood Friend and Taking His Wife by Force. Please add them to your favorites!]

Xie Zhiyi stayed by Xiao Zhuo's side for a full ten years. His moods were unpredictable and his temper capricious, yet he was considerate in every way toward her, his nominal younger sister. But Xie Zhiyi was terrified of him. His suffocating need for control made her want to escape at every moment.

Then, on the day he came of age, every charge fell on him. To escape, Xie Zhiyi lied, making the accusations stick. The enraged emperor banished him to a remote temple to practice austerities. At last, she regained the freedom she had long been denied, but she could not forget Xiao Zhuo's sinister, chilling eyes as he left.

Three years later, Xie Zhiyi returned to the capital with a fiance by her side. The former crown prince seemed like a different person. The cold, unruly edge had vanished, replaced by measured manners and a gentle, humble demeanor.

"Imperial Sister, it has been a long time."

His gaze drifted over her, then lingered on her fiance with an inscrutable, faintly amused look.

That night, a sudden shower pattered over the Eastern Palace.

Xie Zhiyi's delicate body was pressed against the cold window. The wind howled outside as the crown prince gripped her chin and demanded a kiss. Beneath that mild exterior, he was still the sinister hypocrite who had always been domineering and willful to the bone.

A cool, careless smile curled his lips as he leaned close to her ear, his voice hoarse.

"I can give you more than he can."

"Break off the engagement. Be with me."

Note:

1. Both leads have only been with each other. Forceful pursuit.

2. The heroine is a princess in name only and is not entered in the imperial register. She and the hero are not related by blood, and everyone knows it.

[Archived screenshot from 2024.02.23]

Upcoming book: Scheming for My Childhood Friend. Please add it to your favorites!

The two young masters of the Changning Marquis household were twins.

The elder, Pei Ji, traveled far and wide in his youth. His strategies and political arguments were peerless, and he was refined and distinguished. The younger, Pei Lin, wore flowing robes and fine furs, rode a jade-adorned horse with red tassels, and galloped across battlefields in splendid attire.

Everyone knew that Pei Lin, the younger son, and Xie Lingjia, the youngest daughter of the Guangping Marquis, had been childhood sweethearts. Once Xie Lingjia's period of mourning was over, the Changning Marchioness planned to send a matchmaker to propose.

But just as the proposal was about to be made, Pei Lin was ordered by the emperor to leave the capital on official business. A few days later, news came that he had died. Xie Lingjia was consumed with grief and took to her bed, so ill that every doctor said she would not live another half month.

One day, the elder brother, Pei Ji, came to visit. Perhaps delirious with fever, Xie Lingjia mistook him for her childhood sweetheart Pei Lin and threw herself into his arms, sobbing with grief. Somehow, the fit of weeping helped her recover considerably.

The Marchioness of Guangping and the Marchioness of Changning discussed the matter and decided that Pei Ji should marry her daughter. Perhaps the wedding would bring good fortune and save Lingjia's life.

The Marchioness of Changning had watched Xie Lingjia grow up and could not bear the thought of her dying young. Nor did she want to see her marry into another family, so she agreed.

After the wedding, Xie Lingjia's life was no longer in danger, though each day she seemed to wake a little later. Her new husband, Pei Ji, gently helped her dress. His fingertips casually brushed her snow-white neck, adorned with red plum blossoms, as he treated her with tender affection. They seemed more suited to each other than any immortal couple in the world.

Until one day, her true childhood sweetheart, Pei Lin, returned to the capital...

Theme: Honor freedom, love yourself