Peach Blossoms of the Noble House

"The blurbs for my upcoming novels, Concubine and Beautiful Maid, are below. Please add them to your reading lists!"

Qin Mingshu was a maid in the heir's residence. She was stunningly beautiful, with a graceful figure. Knowing her status was low, she only wanted to save enough money to buy her freedom. She had never dreamed of marrying into a powerful family. Besides, she had a childhood sweetheart and was only waiting to leave the residence so she could marry him.

The young lord, Pei Yu, was handsome and refined. Though he was over twenty, he had no women in his household. He was the ideal husband whom the young ladies of the capital eagerly awaited.

Unfortunately, the old madam of the marquis's household was determined to assign Pei Yu a bedchamber maid. Qin Mingshu's beauty made her the obvious choice, but such a matter could not be forced. So the old madam simply assigned her to serve Pei Yu. If the young lord took a fancy to her, all it would take was a word from him.

At first, Pei Yu merely thought Qin Mingshu beautiful. But as time passed, who could remain unmoved by a lovely maid at his side? Seeing how obediently she knew her place, he began thinking of taking her as his concubine.

But he never expected Qin Mingshu to kneel and beg him to let her go. She said she had a childhood sweetheart and that they loved each other deeply. She only had to buy her freedom, and then they could marry.

That day, the usually aloof Pei Yu was so furious that he smashed a porcelain cup. A shard grazed Qin Mingshu's face, leaving a small red mark. He bent down, gripped her chin, and laughed in anger. "You have no right to defy your master's orders."

He loved her, so she could only be his. No matter how pitifully she cried, Pei Yu used every means at his disposal to keep her that day.

Later, Pei Yu was to marry. He repeatedly promised that he would protect Qin Mingshu for the rest of her life. He loved her and would never mistreat her. He thought she believed him.

Unexpectedly, three days before the wedding, Qin Mingshu still jumped off a cliff without looking back.

No matter how deeply Pei Yu regretted it, he could not bring her back. He woke from countless dreams of her leaping from the cliff, her departure so resolute that she would not even turn to look at him.

Qin Mingshu would never be a concubine in this life. Better to shatter like jade than remain intact like a roof tile. If she had to be a concubine, she would rather die.

Much later, she heard that the aloof and otherworldly young lord Pei Yu had fallen apart after his wife died, wasting away until he was little more than skin and bones. But none of that had anything to do with her anymore.

(One-on-one, both are each other's first, happy ending)

1. Blurb for my upcoming novel, Concubine. Please add it to your reading list:

When Song Heng was promoted and recalled to the capital, a minor official spent a fortune to send him a beauty as a gift.

She had skin like ice and jade, and a face of breathtaking beauty. Even Song Heng, a man with a heart as still as water who kept his distance from women, couldn't help being tempted. He kept her by his side.

But despite her soft and gentle appearance, the beauty had a fierce spirit and an exceptionally unyielding temperament.

Song Heng used every means at his disposal before he could barely tame her.

One day, while they were in bed and passion was running high, he gently stroked her raven-dark hair and said with a hint of pity, "As long as you stay by my side and behave, I won't let you suffer in the future."

The beauty, always so proud and unyielding, obediently wrapped her arms around his neck and softly murmured her assent.

Half a month later, Song Heng was ordered to inspect Jiangnan. When he returned to the capital, all he received was news of the beauty's death.

For a long time, he was distraught and unable to recover. He even called off his arranged marriage, behaving so recklessly that he intended to marry a memorial tablet.

Three years later, Song Heng made a tour of Jiangnan. By then, he had become a powerful prince of a different surname. Unexpectedly, he came across a beautiful woman.

She had a lovely face and sparkling eyes, and looked exactly like his dead wife.

At the sight of her, fury surged in Song Heng's deep eyes. He had tamed her once before, and he could do it a second time.

One day, he would make her submit to him completely.

To Fu Qingyu, Song Heng was a prison she could never escape in this life. No matter how hard she tried, she could never get away from him.

But she was no caged swallow in his hand. Even if it cost her everything, she would leave him for good.

Song Heng was born noble, enjoyed a smooth official career, and possessed all under heaven. Yet in matters of love, he endured nothing but torment.

Even if Fu Qingyu hated him to the bone, he would never let her go.

2. Blurb for my upcoming novel, Beautiful Maid. Please add it to your reading list:

On a spring day, with apricot blossoms falling in a light rain, Xie Qingyan accidentally encountered a maid on his way back to the residence. His heart stirred, and he could no longer hold back.

With her slender waist and hibiscus-like face, she strolled through the residence beneath a pale yellow oil-paper umbrella, easily catching his eye.

Perhaps she heard someone calling from behind. The beauty looked back with a radiant smile. She was so dazzlingly beautiful that she seemed almost unreal, and the spring scenery filling the courtyard paled beside her.

From the shadows, Xie Qingyan's gaze lingered on her. The longer he looked, the more fascinated and heated he became. A wild fire seemed to consume him, driving him to make her his.

A beauty he had set his eyes on was his, and he would use any means to claim her.

After transmigrating, Gu Mingyu became a maid serving a young lady in the residence. Her mistress was gentle and generous toward her servants. Gu Mingyu was content with her quiet, uneventful life. Her only wish was to save enough money to buy her freedom and leave the residence, so she could live freely and without restraint.

But when the young lord of the residence was promoted and recalled to the capital, he took a fancy to her and demanded she become his concubine.

Gu Mingyu naturally refused. One day, as a steady drizzle fell, she hurried to plead with him beneath her oil-paper umbrella. She knelt on the ground for a long time, tears streaming down her face. "My lord, please understand. I will never be a concubine in this life..."

But all she got in reply was the cold, unyielding voice of the jade-like young lord. "It's your good fortune that I want you. If you refuse, you can always kill yourself."

In the end, Gu Mingyu cried for a long time, but could only resign herself to her fate. She thought that one day she would escape from his side.

In Xie Qingyan's eyes, Gu Mingyu was nothing more than a caged bird. As long as he held on, she would never escape his grasp. But he never expected that this little bird would risk her life to flee from him.

After her escape was exposed, Xie Qingyan stood by the dock, his cool gaze fixed on her slender figure. His eyes held nothing but certainty that he would get what he wanted. "Gu Mingyu, if you're willing to come back, I can let bygones be bygones..."

He had always firmly believed that she could never leave him.

But before he could finish, Gu Mingyu gave a cold laugh. "Xie Qingyan, dream on. Every day and night I spent with you made me sick."

With that, she jumped into the raging river without hesitation. Her frail figure was utterly resolute.

For a long time afterward, Xie Qingyan dreamed of her resolutely leaping into the river. At last, he understood that she had never been a swallow trapped in a cage.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Theme: We are born free, unrestrained.