Splendor Turned to Ashes

[Cool, formidable heiress and war goddess x scheming, obedient fugitive crown prince]

People said the Xue family of Lingyang had fallen on hard times, leaving its orphaned daughter and madwoman to drift from place to place, utterly pitiful.

But no one expected Xue Lianxin, the orphaned daughter of the Xue family, to return to Lingyang and restore the family by her own efforts, striking fear into the business world.

Dressed in a black gown and carrying a black silk umbrella, Xue Lianxin walked beneath the bright daylight like a soul-reaping demoness.

Everyone knew she had come to avenge her family's destruction, but they had no idea how many other debts she meant to settle.

She restored the Xue family's textile business, swallowed up competitors, won over the ministers entrusted with the late emperor's affairs, and seized the royal tribute goods...

She climbed step by step until she stood second only to the ruler, all to crush the person who had taken the position that should have been hers into the dust.

The vengeance she sought was enough to shake the realm.

But Duan Yushu alone was the one unexpected twist in her path of revenge.

Everyone knew that Lu Yaohua, eldest daughter of the capital's richest family, and Crown Prince Xiao Hongye had been childhood sweethearts. On their wedding day, the bridal procession stretched for miles, and the whole city was ablaze with splendor.

But on another night, unknown to anyone, the same people said very different things.

"I knew from the start that you weren't Duan Yushu."

"And I knew from the start that you weren't Xue Lianxin."

P.S.:

1. This story is entirely fictional and takes place in a completely imaginary setting.

2. Both the male and female leads have had no previous romantic or sexual partners.

Theme: Sincerity in exchange for true affection