Seizing the Throne

[My upcoming novel, The Minister Beneath the Princess's Skirts, is updating daily. Please add it to your reading list!]

In her previous life, Pei Queyin was the legitimate daughter of a marquis's house. Her father betrothed her to Shen Anze, the new top-scoring candidate in the imperial exams. Unfortunately, Shen Anze was implicated in someone else's case and received only a minor post in a border region.

Pei Queyin had always been snobbish and fond of the rich. The first thing she did after being reborn was beg her grandmother to refuse the marriage for her, then climb into the sedan chair of the Lin Duke's household instead.

She sneered at her half-sister for being so foolish as to take the marriage in her place, following that poor scholar all the way to the northwest.

Who could have guessed that fortunes would change? The Crown Prince, long lost beyond the late Empress's reach, returned. The poor scholar became an untouchable Crown Prince, while the Lin Duke's household chose the wrong side. Her father-in-law and husband were imprisoned one after another, and Pei Queyin became a bad omen whom everyone in the capital avoided.

At a palace banquet, Pei Queyin sat in the very last corner. The only person willing to exchange a few words with her was her sister-in-law from her maiden family.

Surrounded by noblewomen, her half-sister came smiling to ask where her brother-in-law was. Pei Queyin couldn't bear it and left.

But she was cornered by that man again.

The Crown Prince, The Outcast, cornered her in an empty palace. He didn't ask why she'd rejected him all those years ago. He simply lifted her chin and breathed in her ear, "The Duke's wife is still as beautiful as ever."

*

In his previous life, Shen Anze married a legitimate daughter of a marquis's house. The pampered young lady was snobbish and fond of the rich, but she was the only springtime beauty in the northwest for him. At last, he waited for his true identity to be revealed and hoped to give his beloved wife a safe and happy life. But his delicate, frail wife had already passed away.

Reborn, he swore to protect Pei Queyin for the rest of her life, but all he received was a hastily written letter breaking off their engagement.

Shen Anze went back to the northwest. When they met again, his former wife was happily married, sharing a loving and harmonious life with her husband.

Shen Anze's expression darkened. He was determined to destroy their blissful marriage.

[Reading Guide]:

1. The heroine has a former husband, in every sense of the phrase.

2. Therefore, while the heroine's first marriage is still in effect, her relationship with the male lead will not progress romantically.

3. The male lead is devoted to the heroine in body and heart, with her as his only spouse in his household register. He has neither a nominal nor an actual relationship with the other female character.

My upcoming novel, The Minister Beneath the Princess's Skirts!

Everyone knew that Princess Ruyang had a loyal bodyguard, assigned to her by Emperor Mingde when she was eight.

The guard, Ye Zhu, was handsome and highly skilled in martial arts. Many noble young ladies in the capital had their eye on him, but he followed Ruyang alone.

When Princess Ruyang fell for someone in her youth, the son of the chancellor, Ye Zhu abducted him for her.

Unfortunately, the chancellor's son was displeased, and the princess grew furious and treated her guard coldly.

When the kingdom fell, the palace attendants scattered. Only Ye Zhu carefully carried the princess out of the chaos of battle.

The old officials of her former kingdom watched as the rebel army dared not go near the princess, and only then realized Ye Zhu was the younger brother of the new emperor, Prince Chu. He had spent years undercover for this very day.

The princess's former kinswomen teased Ruyang, saying she was blessed to have such a deep connection with Prince Chu, and that great prosperity awaited her.

Little did they know that Ruyang had never cared about becoming Prince Chu's consort. Once she had recovered, she accepted the new emperor's title of commandery princess and established her own residence.

In secret, she plotted to restore her kingdom.

Remembering how often Ye Zhu had been turned away, Ruyang thought magnanimously that she could grant him a high position once she reclaimed her kingdom.

But the consort's place could only belong to the chancellor's son, the man she loved.

After years in hiding, Ye Zhu continued to guard her as faithfully as ever.

Ruyang had always believed it would last forever.

Then, at a banquet attended by envoys from every nation, Ruyang witnessed a princess from Nanyue, a newly conquered territory of Prince Chu, step out of a carriage bearing the emblem of Prince Chu's household.

Ruyang sat in shock at the palace banquet in early autumn, knocking over a cup of wine from years past.

*

The princess could not stand to see what belonged to her taken by another, whether it was the kingdom or Ye Zhu.

When she reunited with Ye Zhu, she patiently coaxed him. "Since you can serve your brother, why not pledge yourself to me? I'll restore the kingdom in the name of the former dynasty's princess and give you the rightful position of royal consort."

"From now on, the emperors of a thousand generations will descend from both of us."

Ruyang thought she was seducing him with the promise of power, but she never knew that what he had been patiently pursuing all along was the bright and lovely little princess he had first met in the eighth year of Mingde.

#Mad princess bent on restoring her kingdom x loyal minister beneath her skirts#

Theme: Strive forward with courage and persevere