Breaking the Delicate Bones

Pei Jin was born to a humble farming family, with no great clan to lift him up, yet he had the loyalty of countless soldiers. He was determined to conquer the realm and take the throne. Then he would find the frail concubine who had stabbed him through the chest with a hairpin and gently called him a filthy peasant dog unworthy of love. He would conquer her, then kill her. - Shen Youci was forced to marry Pei Jin as a stand-in for a princess. On their wedding night, he demoted her from wife to concubine. Pei Jin tossed her among the refugees to learn farming and weaving from the common folk. "The princess is spoiled and extravagant. She's not even fit to be my concubine. I, Pei Jin, don't keep delicate flowers. Only when you give up your princessly airs will you be qualified to serve as my concubine." Though Pei Jin treated her terribly in every way, she spent two years coaxing and deceiving him until he fell in love with her. He gave her gold hairpins and fine clothes, and cherished her with tender care. That night, the air was clear and the moon bright. Pei Jin stroked her rounded belly. "Youci, do you blame me for how I treated you before?" "I've never blamed you at all, my husband," Shen Youci replied gently. Then she turned and plunged her hairpin into Pei Jin's chest. "Why?" Pei Jin's starry eyes went blank with disbelief. She calmly wiped the hairpin clean and tucked it into her hair, smiling gently. "You filthy peasant dog. You actually thought you could be loved?" A peerlessly beautiful woman x a warlord in troubled times I make my own worth, a smiling schemer x an aggressive, love-struck simp ● A marriage-first, love-later story of bitter love and hatred, with a slight coercive edge. Both are virgins, one-on-one romance. Theme: The sky is vast and the earth is wide. I make my own worth