The Beauty on the Run

[Want to collect my upcoming novels "Usurping the Enchantress's Throne" and "The Beauty's Trap"]

Everyone knew that the renowned talented woman Su Qihe was a retainer of Prince Qin, Jiang Xunche, and served at his side.

She wielded her brush like a sword, set aside her pride, and helped him navigate the struggle for power. She also shared his warm silken bed, devoutly giving him everything she had, like a moth flying into a flame, her love unwavering.

After another night in his arms, she drank the birth-control decoction. Enduring the discomfort of its bitter medicine, she lay flat on the bed with her eyes lowered, still devoting part of her attention to planning the progress of the court's factional struggles.

Others thought she had fallen asleep. Someone asked His Highness Prince Qin whether he intended to grant Su Qihe a title.

Jiang Xunche's voice came from far away, heavy and cold, like jade striking an ice plate. "There's no need."

To him, she was merely a pretty, useful plaything.

What she thought was a debt of gratitude for recognizing her talent, or a bond of love, had all been one-sided. Nothing could warm his cold, heartless soul.

That night, she lay perfectly still. A tear silently slid from the corner of her eye, soaking the pillow. The chill seeped into her bones, and the pillow remained damp until dawn.

Jiang Xunche successfully seized the throne. Though she had contributed greatly, she suddenly set fire to the old bedchamber and disappeared without a trace.

Before she left, Su Qihe raised a cup toward the imperial palace, then poured its contents into the raging flames.

"May you and I never meet again."

Jiang Xunche spent his life seated high in the halls of power, looking down on all beneath him. Yet he never expected to vomit blood before the ruins of that fire, utterly disheveled and repeatedly losing control.

He schemed desperately to find Su Qihe again, suffering wounds all over until the whole world knew he could not have the one he wanted, and that his devotion would not fade.

At last, he found the little house where she lived in seclusion. On a snowy night in the depths of winter, he stood outside all night, letting the falling snow soak through his thin clothes. His voice trembling, he asked whether she could come back.

But her gaze was distant. One word at a time, she returned his own words to him: "There's no need."

[Reading Guide]

1. The heroine is clear-headed, resilient, and exceptionally talented with a brilliant pen. She will not suffer too much.

2. The hero is aloof, cold-hearted, and ambitious. Even after falling in love, he refuses to admit it.

3. He chases his wife to the ends of the earth; sc; happy ending

Upcoming novel: "Usurping the Enchantress's Throne"

Bandit spy x noblewoman | Minister steals the emperor's wife | He chases his wife to the ends of the earth

No one knew that the peerlessly beautiful Empress Qing Ying, who embodied all that was virtuous and graceful, had once hopelessly loved someone in secret.

Before she married, she was captured by bandits. Because she was a noblewoman from a powerful family, they kept her prisoner and demanded ransom.

The second-in-command of the bandits came to interrogate her. He pushed open the cell door, a sword at his waist and strikingly handsome features on his face. He glanced down at her, and before he even spoke, her heart was already in turmoil.

It was a love that was hopeless and unevenly matched, yet Qing Ying fell into it beyond recovery.

One moonlit night, she clutched her half-undone clothes, her lashes fluttering as she carefully asked whether he could go down the mountain with her.

Zong Yichen finished dressing and stood up. His thin lips curled in a faint, careless sneer.

"My lady, are you serious?"

The moonlight flowed like water. In his eyes, it revealed a coldness like a merciless blade, freezing the young woman's budding love to the bone.

After paying her ransom and returning home, she agreed to a political marriage. Her life went smoothly: she became the Crown Princess and then the Empress, sharing a respectful but loveless marriage with the new emperor.

Until one day, the court was shaken by the news that during a decisive battle between the government and the bandits, the bandit second-in-command, who commanded a large force, had switched sides at the last moment, securing a great victory for the court.

The reason was that Zong Yichen was a loyal warrior trained by the late emperor. He had spent five years undercover in the mountains, alone, all for this righteous victory.

The capital's streets were lined for miles to welcome the hero. The young man stood before the palace and bowed to the new emperor. When he looked up, his dark eyes fixed directly on the empress at the emperor's side.

His gaze burned, just as it had that night in the cell years ago.

At the palace banquet that night, Zong Yichen clasped Qing Ying's wrist amid the blooming flowers. His voice was hoarse, full of the longing he had endured for years and the profound love he had once been forced to bury.

"This time, let me be the one who's serious, all right?"

The empress calmly withdrew her hand, the faintest smile at her lips. "Lord Zong, you are overstepping."

Theme: Talent must not be wasted, and deep affection must not go unrequited