Emperor of the Phoenix II: Notes on Taming a Husband

[Flirtatious, seductive empress x sinister, unhinged marquis]

-

Yun Zan is the empress's only child, born with the makings of an emperor. She is the future sovereign of the Great Qing dynasty, the woman every noble family's young master will one day seek to attach himself to.

Someone has clearly been marked by her, yet insists on going against her.

"You think you can refuse to marry just because you say you don't like it? Do I permit it?" One sentence from the Crown Princess kept Duke Chu kneeling outside the Tianji Palace for two nights.

The retired emperor came to enjoy the spectacle. No, to mediate. "Zan'er, you can't make a melon sweet by force. Let him go back to Nanshu."

Unable to contain her anger, Yun Zan declared loudly, "All under heaven are the emperor's subjects, and Chu Tianji is no exception. I will break his wings and shatter his bones, and make him kneel and beg me."

*

Chu Tianji disliked the Crown Princess because of a con that took place at the Nishang Tower years ago.

His master, Dongfang Chuan, had thoroughly tricked him. He made him wear a pomegranate-red dance skirt, pin a green silk flower in his hair, and practice dancers' sleeve movements and poses, all under the pretense of learning spear techniques.

The Crown Princess saw the whole thing.

On his way out of the tower late at night, he ran into a girl who acted innocent and cute, and was fooled again.

In the years that followed, one rotten incident after another piled up, and he bore a grudge for years.

Duke Chu fled back to Nanshu in disgrace, once swearing, "In this life, I'll only marry someone I love. I will never become the Crown Princess's plaything."

*

On the revolving dance floor, Young Master Tianji's dance captivated the capital.

Yun Zan wrote a provocative poem that praised him on the surface and mocked him underneath. It spread throughout Dongdu, making him the laughingstock once again: a man rejected after failing to win a woman's favor.

Tianji endured it.

What he couldn't endure was Yun Zan accepting a love letter from the young master of the Minister's household, then turning around to flirt with the legitimate second son of the Left Chancellor, all smiles and laughter, charming and affectionate.

She was arrogant by nature, carefree and overbearing.

Tell her to govern diligently and care for the people, and she would take them crickets fighting and horse racing instead.

Later came the grand selection of royal consorts.

He wore a silver-blue robe from Nanshu, graceful as an orchid on a jade tree, and entered the palace as a candidate. Uneasy, he was drugged by a villain.

He stumbled into her bedchamber. "If Your Majesty won't help me, then I..."

"Then what?" Yun Zan approached with her hands behind her back.

Chu Tianji's eyes were bloodshot. His heart heavy with unspeakable distress, he finally knelt before her. "I beg Your Majesty... to show mercy."

In the end, the one who falls in love first is the loser. Take one step back, and then another, and another.

But how could he resist a woman who was arrogant in public yet gentle in private, who could act sweet and play the fool, and who was willing to risk her life to save him despite her precious status?

If she could do that, then he could bend the knee and become her consort.

#May you perch upon the phoenix tree, and hear the song of a flourishing age together.#

--

Reader's Guide:

1. 1v1; the main cast are all virgins, 1v1;

2. This is the next generation's love story following A Return to the Golden Bird Terrace. The daughter of Xuan Yuan Jinzan x the son of Chu Jiazi!

2. Completed novels:

- Reborn Before Marriage [Period]. A Period novel. A Return to the Golden Bird Terrace. An ancient romance.

- Wielding a Sword with You, Ascending to the Azure Heavens. More cultivation and plot than romance;

- Transmigrated as a Female Supporting Character, Bound to a Fairy System. A fairy and a commander in the stars;

- Appointed by Heaven (Non-Full Supporting-Character Quick Transmigration). The heroine rescues various female supporting characters trapped in difficult situations;

- The Transmigrated Female Supporting Character Is the Alluring Sect's Beloved. The heroine belongs to the Alluring Sect.

--- [Ongoing novel, go straight to my author page!] ---

[Soul Eater VS Word Spirit]

Three thousand years ago, the Fangxiang clan wore golden masks on their foreheads and sealed demons with their lives, accompanied by twelve divine beasts and a hundred children. Three thousand years later, to avenge her parents, Bo Shi sacrificed her life and awakened the woman who had been sleeping for three thousand years.

"Why did I name myself Ge Qingqiu? I woke up among kudzu vines, and I hope to stay evergreen and thrive for thousands of autumns. In plain language, I want to stay young forever and live eternally!"

"To stay alive, I can pay any price. Even sacrificing the soul of someone I love is worth it."

"Though as weak as an ant, I will grant any wish you make. The price? Only your... delicious soul!" -- Qingqiu's Sayings.

She is a god who talks tough but has a soft heart, yet never compromises on her principles or position.

-

Wu Yan is a descendant of the Yan clan. At fifteen, he awakened his inherited bloodline. He should have been a lucky child blessed with talent, but his relatives grew jealous of him, and his parents both died.

With his dying breath, his father made him promise to live his life without speaking.

From then on, white hair, silence, gloom, and the protection of ghosts became his defining traits...

Qingqiu was a beam of intense light that cleaved through the darkness in his heart and revealed a stage where the cycles of existence flowed without end. Because of her, he stepped into the fantastical world of demons, gods, and ghosts.

--Years later, I finally understood what that intense, peaceful fragrance that captivated me about her really was. It was the fragrance of the Yellow Springs, clinging to countless devoured souls, lingering for thousands of years. It was the place of rest I had pursued with everything I had.

And by then, there was nothing left for me to lose, except... her.

*

Qingqiu moved closer to Wu Yan, braced one hand against the wall beside his face, and smiled like a spring breeze, her smile intoxicating. "Little boy, don't test a woman's patience." Her fingertip brushed along his cheek, lightly tugging open the collar of his shirt to reveal a sexy collarbone like a range of rolling mountains.

Her finger seemed to have a mind of its own. Unconsciously, it slid along the ridge toward the crimson blossom that had bloomed with the coming of spring. Qingqiu's breath was as fragrant as orchids. Listening to his slightly hurried breathing, she pressed down with her fingertip. His muffled groan sounded like thunder chasing lightning, ringing out only for her dance.

This feels... He's so thin, but surprisingly springy.

Wu Yan breathed in her alluring scent, meeting the brazen gaze of his boss and her casually teasing fingers. "Mm..." He wanted more, so much more... Holding back the urge to seize her, he leaned forward slightly to test the waters. As expected, she slipped away, cunning as ever.

He hadn't experienced a hint of her charms, yet once again he understood what it meant to... "long for what you cannot have."

*

Qingqiu wants to live, but the dead must pay a price to live. They sign contracts with humans, demons, and gods of the underworld. And the parties of the first part... each have their own stories:

1) (Divine Beast Qiangliang) Chang Wuyan: Existence does not need to be defined. To live is meaning enough.

2) (Divine Beast Lanzhu) A Promise of Love: Zhang Zixin. If love means letting go, why did you agree to it in the first place?

2) (Divine Beast Jiazuo) Reborn from the Dead: Wang Cheng. Peach, I promise I'll make what I promised you come true.

3) (Divine Beast Tenggen) The Awakening of Vegetable Souls: I wasn't born to serve your dinner table. We have our own rivers, lakes, seas, mountains, and wilderness.

4) (False God Jiaolong) The Sword That Stops the Flood Dragon: You think hanging a sword there is enough to block my path? They don't get to decide my path. I do.

5) () The Old Tree's Lover: A woman has the right to pursue happiness, even if he was transformed from a demon.

6) () The Basement's Hachimi: Is the final destination for a stray to end up on the human dinner table? A dog's life refuses to accept it.

7) () The Unyielding Book Spirit: Even an unknown nobody can write a story and gather a book spirit that belongs to them alone.

Theme: Be one with the light and dust