Yearning for Beauty

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**Blurb**

※ A soft and foolish beauty who was betrayed VS her ex-boyfriend's big bad wolf of an older brother

Jiang Shuwan and Liang Cheng had been in love since childhood. Liang Cheng once said that any woman marrying into the Duke of Guo's household had to be dignified and gentle, beautiful and intelligent. For the sake of those words, Jiang Shuwan spent ten years trying so hard to appear proper that she became a well-known figure among the elite families of Shengjing.

Her coming-of-age ceremony was near, and her marriage was about to be finalized.

But after she accidentally fell into the water, she discovered that her fiancé had feelings for her younger sister. Other women might have given in, but she wouldn't. If she was going to end things, she would end them cleanly.

Sunlight shimmered, the doors were tightly shut, and with a sheet of paper-thin window lattice between them, she told him how she felt.

"You and my second younger sister love each other. I'm willing to step aside."

Unexpectedly, the voice from the other side of the door belonged to Liang Cheng's biological older brother, the heir to the Duke of Guo's title and a Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Liang Yu.

"I'm not Liang Cheng. You should tell him that in person."

When she realized she'd mistaken him for someone else, her face turned crimson with embarrassment. She hurriedly took her leave and fled, only to run into her younger sister, who smugly announced her triumph: "Brother A-Cheng didn't come today. Next time, he'll be here to discuss our marriage."

At last, Jiang Shuwan understood. All that talk of being dignified and gentle, beautiful and intelligent, had been nothing but excuses.

Unable to bear the thought of her former sweetheart becoming engaged to her younger sister, she left Shengjing without looking back and headed south to Jiangling.

.

Liang Yu, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, had been acting strangely lately. He had never cared for trivial matters, yet now he was frequently attending banquets with his colleagues. He had even volunteered for a posting in Jiangling.

On the way to take up his post, he finally met the young woman who had mistaken him for his younger brother.

For one reason or another, she avoided him as if he were a snake, wishing to stay at least ten feet away. He patiently and carefully approached her again and again. Just when he thought she was about to open her heart to him, he heard her say, "I once shared a bond with your younger brother. I could never be with you."

Aware of the constraints of propriety and the fearsome power of gossip, he gave her plenty of time to think it over.

He hadn't expected her to turn around and start meeting other men.

Today it was the magistrate's son.

Tomorrow it was the prefect's youngest son.

His face remained calm, but inside, he was grinding his teeth with jealousy. At last, he could bear it no longer. He cornered her against a wall, gripped her slender waist, and pressed his forehead to hers as he threatened:

"If you still won't agree, I'll climb over your wall to see you every night!"

[Little Scene]

Back in Shengjing, on the eve of her wedding to Liang Yu, Jiang Shuwan accidentally overheard him talking with her younger sister.

Younger Sister: You said back then that if I broke up Sister and Liang Cheng, I could marry into the Liang family.

Liang Yu: I only said you should break them up. I never said you could bully my wife, and I certainly never said you could marry into the Liang family.

Jiang Shuwan: So you've been plotting this from the very beginning?

Liang Yu: My dear, let me explain!

[Little Scene 2]

When Liang Yu was young, he and his younger brother went to visit the Earl's residence. On the eve of a banquet, he saw a pretty little girl crying in the garden after being bullied.

Her soft, sweet sobs stirred his sympathy. He was about to go comfort her when a steward came to summon him to pay his respects to the host.

Helpless, Liang Yu could only ask his younger brother to comfort the little girl.

Years later, the girl grew into a graceful beauty with lovely features. In the end, she became his younger brother's fiancée. Liang Yu watched on coldly and said nothing.

Until his younger brother lost her through his own unfaithfulness. Liang Yu's eyes narrowed, like a vicious beast lying in wait in the dark, ready to pounce.

No one knew that for the past ten years, Liang Yu had secretly adored the lovely smile Jiang Shuwan turned on his younger brother.

This time, he wouldn't let her go, no matter what.

[Author's Note]

1. At heart, this is a sweet little romance. There's some melodrama, but not much.

2. The heroine is betrayed from the start, and her relationship with the hero is entirely proper and legitimate.

3. The second male lead will chase his ex in a regretful pursuit, but he'll never win her back.

4. Five or six updates a week. I'm not a full-time writer, and work or other real-life matters may cause interruptions, but I won't abandon the story.

3. Everyone's welcome to come join the fun~

Both leads are virgins. One-on-one romance. Happy ending.

[Please add my upcoming novel to your shelves!]

Coming next!

Xia Linlang was the most dutiful person in the Xia family of the southern part of the city. She never fought or made a fuss, and lived quietly until she was sixteen. Her birth mother had died young, and her father ignored her, so she still hadn't been promised to anyone. The neighbors all felt it was a pity, lamenting that such a beautiful, dignified young woman could end up with no one seeking her hand.

Then an unexpected incident took place at a spring banquet.

[1]

On the eve of the Flower Festival, the emperor and empress held a banquet, hoping to celebrate with the people. On the day of the feast, one casual remark from the emperor unexpectedly matched Xia Linlang with Gu Yun.

Feeling guilty, Xia Linlang took the initiative to explain after the banquet: "If Lord Gu is unwilling, you can ask His Majesty to cancel the betrothal."

Gu Yun glanced at her, his indifferent tone suggesting he had accepted the situation. "Who do you take me for, Miss Xia? I can't defy an imperial order."

Well, then they'd just have to make the best of it.

[2]

Gu Yun was the esteemed heir to the Duke of Guo's title in the Northern Dynasty. He was handsome and distinguished, but so dispassionate that he was at a loss for words around women. At twenty-three, he still had no betrothal arranged.

When the emperor's decree of marriage arrived, his colleagues and friends teased him: "We thought Lord Gu had seen through the world and was planning to become a monk. Who knew he'd end up married in a single stroke?"

Gu Yun showed little reaction. His pale brows furrowed as he idly held his wine cup and replied, "We're strangers to each other, nothing more. There's no need to dwell on it."

At that, everyone understood. It was a pity that these two, one as handsome as Pan An and the other as beautiful as a celestial maiden, were entering a marriage without love.

They assumed the pair, who treated each other with icy courtesy, would eventually go their separate ways.

But then, at a banquet hosted by the Gu family, Xia Linlang, the lady of the household, accidentally scalded her hand. Gu Yun's face darkened, and he glared at the person who had served the tea. She was a distant cousin of his, and ever since the banquet began, she hadn't taken her eyes off him. Now he gently took Xia Linlang's injured wrist, his eyes full of concern. "Come back with me first. We'll put some medicine on it, then you can come back out."

Everyone: "..."

"Didn't you say this marriage had nothing to do with love?"

Theme: A good life is something you have to strive for yourself.