The Marquis's Youngest Legitimate Daughter Doesn't Want to Compete for Favor

After her family fell on hard times, Ni Shulian, the youngest legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Anchang, was forced to enter the palace selection. Her cousin, Consort Yi, had a son and was already in the palace. Before Ni Shulian left home, her family urged her to get close to her cousin, and she agreed. Once in the palace, Ni Shulian planned to keep her head down and be an unremarkable ornament. But people kept growing jealous of her looks, and even her cousin used her to frame others. Ni Shulian did not want to endure it any longer. If they were afraid she would make something of herself, then she would fight to prove them wrong. Emperor Jiawen was thirty years old, ten years older than Ni Shulian. He was gentle and refined, and strikingly handsome. He taught Ni Shulian many things and treated her less like a consort and more like a younger sister, growing increasingly indulgent toward her. Even when he knew Ni Shulian had struck back and schemed against others, he was not angry. He gently helped her analyze what she had done well, praising her first before pointing out what she had missed and reminding her to be careful next time. Then he sighed. “Lian’er, you don’t need to go to all this trouble. Tell me, and I’ll take care of it for you.” Feeling a little guilty, Ni Shulian tugged at his sash and looked up. All she met was the man’s warm, smiling gaze, without a trace of blame. Ni Shulian’s breath caught. She realized the emperor seemed to have some genuine affection for her. An older man, sweet indulgence, and light palace intrigue. A fatherly boyfriend. The male lead is not chaste, but after the heroine enters the palace at the beginning, she will not be with anyone else. Coming soon: Waters of the Brocade River. Please follow! Everyone in the harem knew that Noble Lady Chu of Changqiu Hall was out of favor. But for some reason, whenever anything happened in the palace, big or small, it always seemed to involve her, and she was always the one punished by the emperor. Where no one could see, in the stillness of the night, the supreme ruler of the empire changed into a guard’s uniform and came to Changqiu Hall. He gripped the woman’s hand, again and again. It felt like affection, and like torment. After she became pregnant, Chu Lianqiu was banished to a detached palace. Every day, she sat beneath a tree, staring blankly at the square patch of sky overhead. Then one day, a ball flew over the courtyard wall and rolled to her feet. Chu Lianqiu bent to pick it up. When she looked up, she saw a man in dark hunting clothes sitting on the wall and watching her, his eyes deep and inscrutable. Later, Chu Lianqiu learned that he was Wei Yueqian, a hostage sent to Great Qi by Wei. Later still, Great Qi fell, and Wei Yueqian slew on the battlefield the man she had loved and hated for half her life, the man who had tormented her for just as long. Wei unified the Central Plains, and she became its empress. New male lead. The heroine is not chaste, the male lead is. One-on-one romance. The scumbag emperor has a harem. Palace intrigue in the early story; the male lead appears late. The title comes from the Han Dynasty poet Zhuo Wenjun’s “A Letter of Farewell.” The waters of the Brocade River flow on, as I bid you farewell forever! Theme: A small spark of kindness can help those in hardship.