Caged Beauty

[The blurb contains mature material. Read with caution.]

A possessive, hypocritical scoundrel vs. a resilient, self-reliant fisherwoman

Amnesia + substitute + melodramatic coercive romance + a long road to winning her back

Before she was brought to the Duke of Wei's manor, A Yu thought her husband was taking her home to live in comfort.

She was an orphan, raised by Lake Tai.

She had rescued her husband while fishing. Though he was a little slow-witted, he treated her wonderfully: he shielded her from harm, washed her clothes in the dead of winter, and stayed by her side all night when she was ill...

On the very first day after she entered the manor, her husband moved into a separate room.

The next day, a grand and elegant young lady stood beside him. She called him "Second Brother," but didn't call A Yu her sister-in-law.

"You're nothing but a plaything. The manor gives you a meal, which is more than you deserve."

A Yu couldn't believe it. Just last night, her husband had clung tightly to her and asked for water three times. She didn't understand the twists and turns of a great household. All she knew was that, back at Lake Tai, her husband had sworn he would never betray her.

Soon, A Yu's faith was utterly shattered when she saw Lu Yu dressed in wedding robes. For the first time, she understood the saying: "A woman formally wed is a wife; one who elopes is a concubine."

The ridiculous part was that she wasn't even Lu Yu's concubine...

Before leaving, A Yu touched her slightly rounded belly and swallowed a dose of abortion medicine.

She wasn't about to have a beast's child!

Lu Yu, heir to the Duke of Wei, was a man of noble bearing and exalted birth. For years, he had devoted himself to the battlefield, never sparing a thought for romance.

Yet one shameless fisherwoman took advantage of his misfortune and amnesia. She deceived him into believing he was her husband and made him do all sorts of humiliating things.

After regaining his memories, Lu Yu had intended to kill her.

But every time he met the fisherwoman's hopeful gaze, a hint of cruelty stirred in his heart.

He would keep her by his side, in his bedchamber, and make her indulge in every pleasure of the flesh.

The ridiculous part was that the fisherwoman truly believed him. Every night, she lay against him and counted how many children they would have one day...

Lu Yu thought things could go on like this forever. After all, he had pampered her until she was soft and delicate. How could she ever return to her former life of hardship?

Until the day of his wedding, when that woman ran away.

That night, wind and rain lashed the land. A Yu sat collapsed on the ground, wrapped in her soaked wedding dress, trembling as she watched the man draw closer.

"Keep running, then."

"I didn't lavish all this attention on you just to let someone else enjoy you."

Content Warnings

1. One-on-one pairing, both leads sexually inexperienced. A melodramatic, extreme story with dark content. Please don't read if that's not for you.

2. Five-year age gap and a significant size difference. The male lead is not a good person. He really isn't.

3. Amnesia (male lead) + substitute (female lead) + melodramatic coercive romance + a long road to winning her back.

4. Possessive, hypocritical scoundrel (not a good person) vs. resilient, self-reliant fisherwoman.

5. Both leads enter marriages of convenience (neither has been with anyone else). Later, the marriage of convenience falls apart. Explaining further would spoil the story, so I'll leave it at that for now.

One last time: the male lead is a nasty, cruel person, not a good man.

Both leads will suffer, and the pursuit of his wife won't be wrapped up quickly. This story is quite dark, so please don't read if that's not for you.

[Blurb saved on January 30, 2025]

▽ The illustrator has authorized use of the female lead's character design. ▽

◆ Upcoming novel: After Mistaking My Enemy's Daughter. Please add it to your collections! ◆

In the sixth year of the Tiance era, the old Marquis of Dingyuan was framed by a treacherous minister and died on the battlefield. From that day on, Wei Qi despised the minister who had brought about his father's death.

Then an imperial decree ordered Wei Qi to marry his enemy's daughter, Du Lanxi.

If the minister was silver-tongued and unscrupulous, his daughter couldn't be any better.

Wei Qi might scorn wasting his time on women, but he would not let Du Lanxi off lightly, nor would he show her a trace of tenderness. Even in bed, she would have to endure whatever humiliation he inflicted upon her!

After taking his revenge, Wei Qi looked at the soft, pliant body in his arms, and his heart softened a little.

"Since you've been so virtuous and dutiful, I'll let you stay and spend every night atoning for your father's sins."

"But remember your place. Don't even dream of bearing my child."

The woman in his arms trembled and meekly agreed.

*

Du Lanxi was born into an eminent, scholarly family. The youngest daughter in her family, she had been cherished since childhood.

If nothing had gone wrong, she would have shared a loving, harmonious marriage with her childhood sweetheart.

Then everyone said her father had done wrong and that she would be handed over to Wei Qi to appease the anger of the Marquis of Dingyuan's household.

She had never met a man as rough as Wei Qi, who showed not the slightest tenderness. Du Lanxi loathed him, yet their tangled grievances trapped her, leaving her unable to escape.

If her family hadn't owed him, she would rather die than marry a boor like Wei Qi!

*

One day, Wei Qi found an unopened letter in Du Lanxi's room. It revealed that someone else, not the Du family, had caused his father's death, and urged Du Lanxi to divorce him and marry into the family of the Prince of Runan.

The letter was signed by the eldest son of the Jiang family of Runan, her former fiancé.

Wei Qi crushed the letter in his hand. Looking at his wife, who had just suffered a miscarriage, he felt utterly confused and at a loss for the first time in his life.

He absolutely could not let Du Lanxi see that letter...

1. One-on-one pairing, both leads sexually inexperienced, happy ending.

2. A terrible man faces a long road to winning his wife back.

3. A refined, well-educated aristocratic lady vs. a rough, cruel scoundrel.

[Blurb saved on February 2, 2025]

Theme: Only sincerity can win love.