The Swallows Before the Hall

Li Miaoyun, the youngest daughter of the Minister of Rites, and Gu Xun, the eldest legitimate son of Prince Xiang, were once considered a match made in heaven among the capital's aristocracy. When they were five, the Empress Dowager decreed that they would be betrothed.

But fate had other plans. Li Miaoyun's father was demoted, her mother disappeared, and the Li family fell into decline and left the capital.

Ten years later, when they met again, Gu Xun had become Prince Xiang's heir and a first-rank general, a man of power who enjoyed the emperor's favor.

Meanwhile, Li Miaoyun was being forced to become the concubine of a man old enough to be her grandfather. She fled the marriage in haste, got caught up in an assassination attempt on the Chancellor, and was thrown into prison.

In the cell, Gu Xun's features still held a trace of the boy she remembered. He touched her waist. "Did you bring this here especially to see me?"

It was the token of their love.

Li Miaoyun wrapped her arms around his neck and wept softly into his ear.

When Gu Xun finally reached out and embraced her, Li Miaoyun smiled.

So what if her methods were dishonorable?

"Once I've gotten everything I can out of this man, I'll just kick him aside."

Now the heir's wife, Li Miaoyun smiled as she watched Gu Xun being pestered by a powerful princess.

She had only wanted to use him to escape, never expecting to fall into the web he had spun for her.

[False childhood sweethearts + Cunning scheming and wits + Marriage first, love later]

[Self-centered and decidedly no saintly heroine, a fake white lotus vs. a scheming, dark-hearted, arrogant heir who is only ever fooled by the heroine]

SC

Theme: Love makes us better