Dew on Red Blossoms

[Complete. Thank you for supporting the official release.]

[Cool, career-minded female lead vs. a piece of trash]

Because of her elder brother's wrongdoing, Lu Yunshu was cast aside and sent to marry Pei Shaoxing, the eldest son of the Marquis of Runing, as an offering of apology.

Pei Shaoxing had everything going for him, from his family background to his looks. Naturally, he looked down on Lu Yunshu, a merchant's daughter of such low moral standing.

Under pressure from his clan, Pei Shaoxing had no choice but to consummate the marriage with Lu Yunshu. He only had to wait until she bore him a legitimate son before sending her a letter of divorce and cutting ties for good.

But as time went by, he discovered that his wife could manage the household, show filial respect to her elders, and even make the marquisate's business thrive. Even when he wanted to elevate his former beloved to the position of co-wife, she smiled and agreed. At the time, Lu Yunshu was heavily pregnant, yet she still worked tirelessly to arrange the wedding and welcome his new bride into the household.

Considering how hard she worked and how sensible she was, Pei Shaoxing decided to put off divorcing her for the time being.

A year into their marriage, Pei Shaoxing traveled to the capital and realized that he missed her a little. He specially brought back a trinket he thought his wife would like, as a gesture befitting their marriage.

But when he returned home, he learned that his seemingly devoted wife had abandoned her family and children and run away months ago.

● Coming next: The Calamity Within the Boudoir

Zhao Qingyi was born into a prominent family and married Li Che, a poor scholar.

On their wedding night, her husband left to take up an appointment in Lingnan. Zhao Qingyi devoted herself to caring for her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, while also helping him advance his career.

In the third year, Li Che was transferred back to the capital. Claiming she was too frail, he adopted a boy from the clan and put him under her name so she would have a child to rely on.

Zhao Qingyi thought that although Li Che was cold by nature, he still cared about her.

For the next eighteen years, determined not to let Li Che down, Zhao Qingyi worked herself to the bone without complaint. At last, Li Che became the chief minister, and their adopted son made a name for himself.

Just as Zhao Qingyi was about to receive her title, she suddenly fell gravely ill.

As she lay dying, Li Che threw a letter of divorce onto her bed. "I've pretended to get along with you for twenty years. You disgust me."

Her adopted son, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations: "Mother? You think you deserve that title?"

Her widowed cousin: "Sister, you raised my child for me. From now on, I'll take over the Li household, and I won't let down the title you earned."

Her sharp-tongued mother-in-law: "If you hadn't brought such a generous dowry, do you think you'd ever have become a Li wife?"

Only then did Zhao Qingyi realize that her whole life of painstaking devotion had been a joke.

When she opened her eyes again, she was eighteen, in the third year of her marriage to Li Che.

Facing the illegitimate son he had brought home, her widowed cousin who pretended to visit her, and her hypocritical, malicious mother-in-law, Zhao Qingyi gave a cold smile as she smoothed her hair.

You think you can walk all over me and live happily ever after? Dream on!

In this life, she would make the Li family bring about its own ruin, then fling a divorce letter in their faces.

"I've pretended to get along with you for years. You disgust me."

Li Che, who had just woken up reborn: "..."

This time, he regretted everything and wanted to make a life with her.

Zhao Qingyi smiled. "Too late. I have a lover."

Li Che: "!"

He refused to believe her and swore he would find the bastard who had cuckolded him!

At last, one day, he found red silk swaying and heard intimate whispers in the loft of his own house. His wife sat in a man's arms, her body supple as water and her hairpins askew.

The man slowly turned around and sneered at him.

Li Che's knees buckled. "Y-Your... Your Majesty?!"

*

Chu Yuanhe ascended the throne as a young man. Rebellious by nature, he loved war and bloodshed. Only one person had ever unknowingly found her way into his heart.

Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick. She was already engaged, so he could only let her go.

He did everything in his power to promote her husband, ensuring she rose through the ranks and enjoyed a life of glory. Yet she died on the very day he granted her an honorific title.

After waking from his dream, Chu Yuanhe no longer wanted to let her go to another man.

If he couldn't have her, he would steal her away, or take her by force.

One way or another, he would bring her back to his side.

Note:

1. The male lead is no conventional emperor. He defies convention and does as he pleases, enjoys cosplay, and is always putting on a show. In the early chapters, he uses a secret identity to pursue the female lead, lowers himself, and makes direct advances (not forced possession, just seduction and temptation until she willingly takes him to bed).

2. The female lead gets a satisfying revenge-story life in this one: domestic revenge, face-slapping and punishing villains, plus an emperor pursuing his minister's wife.

3. The leads don't have strong moral scruples. Anyone who hurts me will be ground to dust. Due to writing restrictions, there is romantic tension early on, but nothing physical happens until after the female lead divorces.

4. The female lead takes revenge using her own abilities and the resources she already has. She doesn't rely on a man to crush her enemies.

Theme: Cherish the people you love.