Seizing Love

[Foreign Princess x Gentle Merchant | Bonus chapters in the column The Theft of Love: Bonus Chapters]

The little princess of Xichi, Qiao Huan, was pampered and adored, yet after an outing, she found herself caught in a hopeless love.

Crossing the vast desert, she came to a neighboring state and stayed by the side of the man she loved as his female disciple, hoping to give their love a future.

But her feelings meant nothing to the man she loved. Instead, his younger brother relentlessly pursued her and refused to give up.

Qiao Huan (resting her chin in her hand): This is such a headache.

One morning, while sheltering from the rain beneath the eaves, she happened to hear the man she loved describe her:

She's flighty and can't settle down. She'd be fit only to be a concubine.

What a thing to say, that she'd be fit only to be a concubine.

She couldn't be a virtuous wife and mother in Great Wei, nor did she want to be.

That very day, she briskly packed her things, determined to forget the past and find a new love.

*

Qin Shiqing, head of the Qin family, was as bright as the moon and a refined gentleman, yet misfortune dogged him and his marriage prospects were poor. Worried about his unlucky fate, he didn't even dare give a direct answer when the young woman he liked confessed her feelings to him.

And then...

At home, his own younger brother announced in front of everyone, "Huan and I are in love with each other."

On the main street, a man who seemed to be Qiao Huan's childhood sweetheart clasped her hand and said tenderly, "My dear wife, I know I was wrong. Don't be angry anymore. Come home with me."

A friend teased him, "You'll only realize what regret feels like after you've driven her away."

Later, those words came true.

Qin Shiqing nearly turned the whole city of Xuanzhou upside down searching for Qiao Huan. When they met again, she was covered in blood, yet right in front of him, she threw herself into another man's arms.

Qin Shiqing froze on the spot.

How did she get another one in just one day?

Reading Guide:

One-on-one romance, both leads are sexually inexperienced.

The second, third, and fourth male leads have unrequited feelings for her. The male lead is pure in both body and heart.

The second male lead has more scenes early on; the male lead has more scenes later.

The children's story, Drunk Beneath a Thousand Lanterns, is complete.

The setting sun's blood-red light covered the border city's towers. From a criminal's daughter barely surviving to the famous Lantern Queen, Qiao Sheng looked down at the enemy army surrounding the city and suddenly remembered that ordinary snowy night, when the candlelight had burned bright.

The young man had said solemnly, "If you ever find yourself in trouble, older sister, perhaps you could ask the Duke for help."

She hadn't thought much of it. "That dissolute Duke?"

Later, she faked her death and fled to the capital to clear her parents' names. Though she had a special skill, she couldn't even rent a shop.

With nowhere else to turn, she took a lantern and knocked on the Duke's residence gate.

Arrows fell like rain, and the enemy army hurled itself at the city gate like madmen.

Amid the chaos of war, Qiao Sheng looked back at the city behind her, holding a small leaf carving close in her hand.

A Ruan, this time, I'll protect you.

*

He was the Duke of Tang, a Great Wei hero renowned for his military achievements. In public, he always wore a cloak and a mask, concealing both his face and the shameful truth of his origins.

Rumor had it that Duke Tang was a notorious playboy.

He laughed off the many rumors and insults, until he fled the capital and met the woman who made his heart race.

The woman had laughed and said, "That dissolute Duke?"

She clearly looked down on him.

Before he could prove his innocence, a great fire separated him from the woman he loved, leaving them on opposite sides of life and death.

The once free-spirited young man lost the light in his eyes.

Then one day, a bold young woman appeared with a lantern, saying she had come to discuss business with the Duke.

*

That snowy afternoon, the first signs of trouble appeared.

From the moment they met again, the pieces began to move and the curtain rose.

Caught in a scheme within a scheme, they were both masterminds and pieces on the board.

Countless bright lanterns, endless splendor.

And yet my eyes see only you.

Theme: Become a better version of yourself!