After His Canary Remarried, He Regretted It

[Dearest readers, this novel will go premium on July 5, starting from Chapter 23. Thank you all for your support!]

Everyone knows Cao Tao, head of the Cao family, is on intimate terms with the breathtakingly beautiful Lady Wei. The seemingly delicate woman would even dare kill someone for his sake in front of a crowd. Once the situation settles, she'll marry into the Cao family and become its lady of the house.

Wei Qingjia never harbored such fantasies. She only hoped to use his help to escape her misery. But at the crucial moment, the trust she had placed in him was repaid with betrayal, sending her into an even deeper cage.

When she was sent to the "fine groom" the Wei family had carefully chosen for her, heavy snow blanketed the mountains and red wedding silk hung like blood. News arrived that Cao Tao had been defeated, and for the first time in ages, she smiled.

When they met again, she was the wife of a governor, famous throughout the region, while he was trapped in a cage, barely clinging to life.

Wei Qingjia appeared before him like a savior, pretending to rescue him from his plight. She helped him escape his predicament as if she held no grudge, then toyed with him in the palm of her hand. Just as he began to hope, she let go, just as he had done to her all those years ago.

Years later, Cao Tao had risen to power once more, while the husband she had carefully cultivated was dead. They met again in the mourning hall of Wei Qingjia's husband. He pinned her against the coffin and kissed her softly, while she drove the jade hairpin in her hand into his chest.

"Do you hate me? It doesn't matter. I'll spend the rest of my life at your side, making amends. We're destined to be entangled forever, until death do us part."

[Beautiful, clever heroine who always repays a grudge x arrogant, vicious general with a wolfish streak]

P.S. 1. The heroine really does marry someone else, so she isn't a virgin, but the hero is.

2. The hero is awful. The bad puppy will get what he deserves, and he'll have to suffer to win her back.

3. The heroine isn't a powerful female lead from the start. She's just a clever young woman trying to protect herself, and she'll grow stronger over time.

Entry for the Growth and Comeback writing contest, theme: "Rise Again, Strike Back from the Brink": The heroine goes from a canary at the mercy of others to claiming influence and power through her own efforts. She never gives up in the face of setbacks caused by people and events, and eventually rises to a position of power where no one can dismiss or abandon her again.

Theme: Relying on yourself is what true strength means