My Cousin May Be Delicate, but She Can Uproot a Willow

Ji Wan is a spy trained by Prince Jing of the Southern Dynasty. Her codename is Daji, and her every move is so alluring and beautiful that no one can look away.

She is ordered to infiltrate the residence of Marquis Anbo in the Northern Dynasty, posing as a young female relative of the household to steal the Northern Dynasty's secrets.

She intends to get close to the marquis's eldest son, Shen Jin, but a twist of fate leaves her with no choice but to sleep with the drugged third son, Shen Yi.

Shen Yi, the legitimate third son of the main branch of the Marquis of Anbo's household, is the son of the Northern Dynasty's eldest princess. His bearing is peerless and his demeanor cool and otherworldly, making him the dream lover of every unmarried young woman in the capital. But after someone schemes against him, he is forced to marry his cousin, who has been living under his family's roof.

After their marriage, Ji Wan is gentle and understanding. She plays the virtuous wife, serving her mother-in-law and looking after her husband's younger siblings, while caring for her husband with warmth and attentiveness.

Even when her husband, at least in name, treats her coldly, and she and a famous Northern Dynasty performer both fall into the water, he jumps in without hesitation to save the performer, leaving Ji Wan to sink to the bottom of the lake.

Still, she bears him no resentment and has no regrets.

At the same time, she actively passes along intelligence about the Northern Dynasty, until at last Prince Jing approves her return home.

One day, the women of the Marquis of Anbo's household are ambushed by Southern Dynasty assassins while on their way to burn incense at Ciguang Temple. The third young master fights ten men at once to protect Princess Dongyang, while Ji Wan is driven to the edge of a cliff by an assassin.

Looking at Shen Yi, who is the last to come to her rescue, she smiles faintly at him, then leaps from the cliff, bringing their story to an end.

What she doesn't know is that after she jumps, he searches beneath the cliff with his men for seven days and seven nights. In the end, he coughs up blood nonstop and turns white-haired overnight.

**

A year later, the two countries call a truce and negotiate peace. Princess Dongyang is sent to the Southern Dynasty to marry, and Shen Yi leads the escort accompanying her.

Prince Jing of the Southern Dynasty hosts a banquet to welcome the Northern Dynasty's envoys. As Shen Yi watches the prince's enchanting dancer perform in the middle of the hall, he is caught completely off guard and crushes the wine cup in his hand, blood running down his fingers.

At midnight, a shadow slips into the rear courtyard of Prince Jing's residence. Smiling, Ji Wan looks at the white-haired young man standing before her, parts her red lips, and says in a voice devoid of joy or sorrow, "Third Young Master, it's been a long time."

The female lead has maxed-out combat prowess. She's the strongest in the entire story, the kind who can take on a hundred people alone.

Blurb written: 2023-8-12

Theme: Only when both sides reach for each other does it mean something.