★ Next book: How Could Her Majesty Be So Disobedient? / Link in the comments can take you there
* The side couple's storyline and occasional main-story extras will be posted as [Bonus Extras].
* The whole book is complete. Thank you for supporting the official version, and please leave a good review!
Song Shu married Lu family's sickly heir to the Duke of Dingguo as a good-luck bride. Before long, the Lu family raised an army in rebellion and overthrew the regime.
She went from being the heir's wife to the crown princess in a single stroke.
Others envied her, saying Song Shu had inherited her mother's lowly status. Even if she had risen to the top, she was still just a pheasant, never a noble phoenix.
She kept her head down and lived out her days in the Eastern Palace, alongside several noblewomen sent there. They bullied her at every turn, but she never told him.
Song Shu had no interest in fighting them for anything.
*
During the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, the streets were crowded, with singing and dancing everywhere.
Lu Xuancheng had just returned from a palace banquet when he overheard a passerby say, "Don't go that way. There's a fire in the Eastern Palace. I doubt anyone inside will make it out..."
He galloped there. The frightened crowd scattered to either side as he dismounted. At the palace gates stood several women in torn clothes, but Song Shu was nowhere to be seen.
Ignoring the people trying to stop him, he rushed into the fire and searched everywhere, but could not find her. Even after the flames were extinguished and the palace servants had nearly turned the Eastern Palace upside down, they still could not find the crown princess's body.
"Later, I heard the Crown Prince tortured the few women who survived that day. In the end, they confessed only to setting the fire. The crown princess was still missing..."
"She was just an ordinary woman with no outstanding talents. Surely there are others in the world who would be a better match." She replied calmly and finished the hot tea in her cup.
The deal had fallen through, and she and the person before her had nothing in common. Song Shu decided to look for another way and took her leave for the time being.
But as she turned, she caught sight of the shopkeeper who had just spoken to her, his face full of guilt. Before she could see who had come up behind her, she heard a low, restrained voice:
"No one else will do."
◎ Reader's Note
This is neither a political-intrigue novel nor a story about a female lead who dominates everyone. The plot serves the romance.
Neither male-lead nor female-lead fans are advised to read.
1v1, both leads' first time. Fictional setting, no need to fact-check. Revisions may happen at any time.
Please don't send writing advice. If you drop the book, there's no need to tell me.
First version: 2023.8.21
Latest version: 2026.1.28 (snapshot taken)
Theme: Live life positively
I have never hated a female protagonist so much when watching a female video. I won't talk about the messy mother's family and why I didn't feel self-conscious after getting married. To be honest, the male protagonist is much better than the male protagonists in other better books I have read.
By the way, do people who worship evil gods think they are worshiping evil gods? The witch herself also calls the evil god? The evil god himself should also have a name, and believers should address him with respect, right? Looking at some other folklore stories, the evil gods in their eyes are completely the truth, but they don't feel evil at all.
The author remembers to open a paragraph with a comment
You like the character of the male protagonist, there is always one person who has to talk things over
This coup is ridiculous enough, but this "win" is a bit childish.
Happy New Year [Spread flowers] and good luck