The Minister Beneath the Golden Bough

Hui Yi was born while her entire family was being exiled to Lingzhou. She spent twelve hard years living a meager, wandering life with her parents.

After her father regained his throne, this sparrow flew up to a branch and became a phoenix.

But she was a princess whom the noble ladies of Chang'an mocked as crude.

Hui Yi tried hard to learn everything about Chang'an so she could fit in, but eventually realized it was all pointless. So she became the spoiled and domineering Princess Changle. Those noble ladies who had once mocked her now only feared and dreaded her.

A princess like her deserved a gentle, tolerant consort, but for some reason her father arranged for her to marry Lin Lanting.

Lin Lanting, the chancellor's youngest son, was the most troublesome young man in the capital.

He was a shameless rogue who excelled at cockfighting and dog racing, and brawled with the best of them in the military camp.

When no one else dared offend her to her face, Lin Lanting had the nerve to grin and call her a spoiled princess.

Neither of them approved of the marriage, but they could not defy the emperor's decree. The two made it through their chaotic wedding ceremony, then spent a while constantly at each other's throats before sitting down to negotiate.

"From now on, we'll stay out of each other's way. You have your fun, I'll have mine, and neither of us will cross the line."

Hui Yi declared.

Lin Lanting was overjoyed. He clapped his hands and laughed. "That's perfect. Why, if Your Highness wants to meet a lover in secret, I'll even stand guard for you."

They hit it off, and their relationship grew much more cordial.

Later, Hui Yi really did meet someone she liked: a gentle, elegant qin player dressed in white.

Excited, she went to meet him. But as soon as she arrived at the manor where they'd agreed to meet, she witnessed a shocking scene.

Her consort, who had once claimed he would stand guard for her, had brought a group of guards to drag out the qin player, whose face was bruised and swollen. Lin Lanting's expression was ferocious.

One day, Hui Yi took an interest in a handsome, clever scholar from a poor family and was about to go meet him when Lin Lanting, who had hurried back after hearing the news, blocked her at the door.

In front of all the servants, Lin Lanting carried her back, ignoring her punches and kicks.

After he tossed her onto the bed, Hui Yi, overwhelmed with anger, slapped him. Lin Lanting answered with a savage smile.

"If that makes you feel better, keep slapping me. But if you go looking for that poor scholar again after you're done, I'll kill him!"

Still furious, Hui Yi took this as a challenge and slapped him again.

"You wouldn't dare!"

That enraged him. Lin Lanting kissed her without warning, biting and devouring her recklessly, heedless of the blood between their lips.

"Sneaking around with another man right under my nose? Let's see if I dare!"

Lin Lanting stared at her, his lips smeared with blood making him look like a demon from hell. For once, Hui Yi didn't dare say a word.

A bickering couple

A proud, fierce dog turns into a mad stray

Sweet romance

Blurb written on April 14, 2025

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"Married to a Demon"

After Qi Jiang died, she opened her eyes to find herself in the body of a princess in a small kingdom during a time of chaos.

She had a beautiful face, plenty to eat, and no worries about clothes. More importantly, she had a healthy body. Qi Jiang was very satisfied.

But then she discovered that this was a terrifying world full of demons and monsters, and her smile vanished at once.

Not long after, a skinning demon came to the capital, targeting beautiful young women and stealing their faces.

The skinning demon set its sights on Qi Jiang. For the first time, she hated being beautiful.

Her father searched everywhere for an expert and finally found a young man who looked about seventeen or eighteen. He was dressed as a Daoist priest, handsome enough, but rather unkempt.

His name was Xi Xing. He was young, but highly capable. He easily slew the skinning demon and wiped out all the other demons and monsters in the capital. His formidable power made Qi Jiang's eyes shine.

After vanquishing the demons, the young priest ignored everyone and left the capital without a care.

They met again on the road, when Qi Jiang was being sent away for a political marriage.

Their wedding procession was attacked by demons, and nearly everyone was killed or wounded. Just as her life was hanging by a thread, Xi Xing appeared once more.

Qi Jiang said she wanted to follow him. The usually composed young man looked utterly exasperated, but despite his reluctance, Qi Jiang managed to seize this lifeline and successfully stick by his side.

Xi Xing protected her and taught her magic. Qi Jiang thought he had accepted her, but a few months later, Xi Xing brought her to the Kingdom of Yan, where she was supposed to have been sent as a bride. Her heart sank.

In a fit of anger, Qi Jiang ran away.

A few months later, Qi Jiang was fighting a vengeful spirit. She had just taken a talisman in hand when a sword swept the spirit away.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Qi Jiang greeted him with an awkward smile. He replied without expression.

"It's no coincidence. I've been looking for you for months."

The Great Zhou dynasty is ruled by a line of emperors believed to have been granted the Mandate of Heaven. As long as the imperial line endures, the fortune of the human realm will remain in balance.

But three hundred years ago, several rebel kings assassinated the seventeen-year-old crown prince, a future ruler who had been born amid celestial omens. From that moment, the balance of fortune in the human realm was disrupted. Demons emerged, and chaos erupted.

The once-powerful Great Zhou dynasty soon collapsed, breaking apart into many feuding states.

On a rainy night a hundred years later, grave robbers broke into the tomb of the Crown Prince Shang. A man who should have been dead for a century emerged from the tomb.

From that moment on, he was no longer the crown prince and future emperor who had died with regrets a hundred years ago, but a demon spirit nurtured by yin energy.

Theme: Follow your heart