I'll Just Sit Back and Watch You Perform

[Complete] The update notice is for the revised text.

[Next novel: My Brother Has Regrets. I want to write a little forbidden, restrained push and pull between step-siblings. See the blurb below. Please add it to your reading list~]

[There’s a new female-disguise pre-release in my profile. If you like this kind of story, do add it to your reading list!]

Male lead has a secret crush | Three men and one woman, with a hint of rivalry

50% anti-piracy protection. Skipping too many chapters will affect the reading experience.

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Yao Xu was gifted with words from childhood and placed second in the imperial examinations at just sixteen. Yet she was aloof and carefree, even daring to slight the emperor in public.

Everyone said Yao Xu only dared to act so brazenly because her grandfather was the Imperial Tutor.

Little did they know she deliberately played lazy and unlikable because she was afraid the emperor would recognize her as the girl he had met when they were children.

*

The current emperor, Xue Fang, ascended the throne at a young age and was eager to recruit worthy talent. He was impressed by Yao Xu's essay at first sight, but for certain reasons could not name her the top scholar.

Feeling guilty and wanting to make it up to her, he treated Yao Xu with increasing warmth.

Who would have guessed that one day the truth would come to light: Yao Xu was a woman.

Xue Fang: She is exceptionally talented, and I have wronged her. As for the crime of deceiving the emperor... Forget it. I won't pursue it.

From then on, the emperor found a new amusement: quietly watching Yao Xu put on an act.

Not only was she a brilliant actress, she was also extraordinarily capable. Xue Fang entrusted her with important work and appointed Yao Xu to inspect the two prefectures of Feng and Huai.

Half a year passed. Xue Fang eagerly awaited her return to the capital, only to hear that she and the Imperial Censor on inspection were inseparable and far too close.

Xue Fang: Considering she risked life and limb serving the court... Forget it. I'll deal with it when she returns to the capital.

But not long afterward, the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review came to the palace to report on his work and bluntly asked to marry Yao Xu, requesting the emperor's blessing.

Xue Fang: Hah. I can't let this one go.

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Ever since she entered government service, Yao Xu had carefully concealed her identity.

Over the years, she achieved an outstanding record and steadily rose through the ranks. Now a third-rank official, she had become a powerful and trusted aide to the emperor.

Then one night, she was urgently summoned to the palace.

The emperor's gaze was dark, his expression impossible to read. "The ministers have urged me to choose an empress as soon as possible. What do you think, Minister Yao?"

A few notes:

1. A spirited young woman official x an emperor who is tough on the outside but soft-hearted within. Both are each other's only one, body and soul.

2. The heroine doesn't realize her disguise has been seen through. The hero's bond with her as sovereign and subject turns into love.

3. The protagonists grow over time. The heroine grows through her career, while the hero grows through love.

4. [Important] The heroine will not enter the palace. If she does, I'll eat my keyboard!

5. The heroine will reveal that she is a woman later in the story and serve as an official openly and with dignity.

Here's a preview of the next novel I'm planning to write. See my profile for the full blurb!

My Brother Has Regrets

At first, Lüyang wasn't willing to pretend to be Wen Zhengchen's younger sister.

Though her family was poor and her parents didn't care for her, she'd been sent to an opera troupe as a child and endured years of hardship under her master's whip. She had never complained or cried out in pain. All she wanted was to finish her training and earn money with her skills to help support her family.

Then Wen Zhengchen came looking for her from the capital.

A handsome young gentleman in fine clothes stood beneath the clear moonlight, blocking her path, his eyes vacant with grief.

He was the son of Princess Rongning. His only younger sister had gone missing during a time of upheaval.

For years, the princess had pined for her daughter until her mind began to fail.

This desperate measure was meant only to ease his mother's heartache.

Lüyang bit her lip. "I've never lied to anyone. I can't..."

"I'll teach you."

His gaze burned as he made a solemn promise. "No matter what happens in the future, from this day on, I'll always be your brother."

His words were overflowing with tenderness. In a daze, Lüyang nodded as if possessed.

-

Wen Zhengchen never imagined he could teach her so well.

So well that she could meekly accept his mother's arrangements and obediently meet other men as potential husbands.

As if she really were his younger sister.

Seeing his displeased expression, Lüyang hurried to explain, "Brother, don't misunderstand. I never dreamed of taking someone else's place..."

She called him brother, so he had no choice. Forcing a smile, he said what he didn't mean: "If you find a suitable husband, I'll be happy for you too. You can marry without worry."

-

After passing off a fake as real and deceiving his family, Wen Zhengchen spent every night kneeling in the ancestral hall, reflecting on his actions.

On the night his real younger sister returned to the family, he fell to his knees, reeking of alcohol. Lüyang came to help him up, confusion in her eyes. "Now that your family is reunited, why are you still punishing yourself?"

He refused to get up and stubbornly demanded, "Why did you agree to become my mother's adopted daughter?"

Her expression was so innocent as she tilted her head, trying to sound casual. "Because you said you'd always be my brother."

"But, Yangyang..." He gripped the hem of her skirt. "Your brother regrets it."

*

I just love watching upright gentlemen struggle with their own feelings.

If you're interested, please add it to your reading list! The full manuscript will be ready this year!

Theme: Love isn't possession. It's giving her the freedom to choose.