My Newly Widowed Imperial Sister

[Not actually siblings / possessive love / clever older princess x scheming younger emperor] Though Chu Xuan's first half of life was full of hardships, he reclaimed the throne through a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, and ruled the realm as emperor. If he had one regret, it was that he had a woman hidden in his heart. He cherished, loved, and respected her, yet dared not reveal even a trace of his feelings, because she was the Grand Princess he had personally bestowed the title upon. He had once promised her: Whatever you want, Sister, Ah Xuan will give it to you. His sister wanted to spend her life with that man. He agreed. Though he was unwilling in a thousand ways, he still arranged their marriage. But no one expected that, on the eve of the wedding, the man would suddenly die. If this was Heaven's will, then he couldn't be blamed. *Reader's Notes* 1. Before the story goes premium, updates follow the rankings. After it goes premium, there will be six updates a day. 2. The leads are not related by blood. 3. Both leads are sexually inexperienced. The man is one year younger than the woman. Strongly recommended: My Next Novel, No, Husband, This Really Won't Do! As the saying goes, know yourself. Liu Lanfang knew from an early age that she was a layabout. She had no great ambitions and was perfectly suited to marrying a wealthy young gentleman, spending her whole life eating, drinking, and enjoying herself, then comfortably lounging around until old age. So at the emperor's selection ceremony, she performed just averagely, was promptly rejected, and successfully landed herself an ideal husband-to-be: Taking her status as the daughter of a high-ranking official into account, the emperor specifically arranged for her to marry the youngest son of Prince Xuan. This young heir was a notorious wastrel, with no interest in an official career and a talent for eating, drinking, and having fun. Liu Lanfang: A match made in heaven! After happily marrying into the young heir's residence, she found that her wastrel husband never once set foot in their bridal chamber. But she had complete control over the household accounts and all their food and possessions. Marrying the right man really was better than being an immortal! Until one night, she accidentally caught her conveniently absent husband whispering in secret with someone. Listening more closely, she heard two words: Treason. Liu Lanfang: ...Can I pretend I didn't hear that? (Bitter smile.) Her husband grabbed her by the throat and gave a sinister smile. "You have only one choice now: help me seize the throne." Liu Lanfang's legs went weak on the spot. "No! Husband, this really won't do!" * * * * After she was dragged onto the pirate ship, her convenient husband's true colors came out. Now he often came to their bridal chamber to give her assignments. "Your task this time is to get close to Consort Lin. She likes playing chess." "No!" Liu Lanfang cried in alarm. "I don't know how to play." "I'll teach you." Her husband gave another sinister smile. "If you can't learn it in one day, you won't sleep tonight. You'll wash every one of these chess pieces, one at a time." Liu Lanfang spent more than a month washing chess pieces through her tears, and finally made up her mind: She was going to run away! A life of endless striving was no life for a layabout like her! Unfortunately, she was caught and dragged back. "Now that I look closely, you're quite pretty. Since you're useless at everything else, then... do something you're good at." Watching the man approach as he loosened his clothes, Liu Lanfang shrieked through her tears, "No! Husband, this really won't do!" Theme: Good love inspires people to better themselves.