After Repaying Her Debt with Her Body, She Ran Away

My next book, The Crown Prince Poses for Me, is up for preorders. The blurb is below. Thank you!

[Blurb]

When An Qi was being bullied by the local thug in Qinghe Town, she happened to be rescued by Lu Xuchen.

At the time, Lu Xuchen was only a humble traveling merchant doing business in Jiangnan, but he was gentle, refined, quiet, and reserved. As they spent time together, An Qi gradually fell for him. Blushing, she told him she was willing to follow him and take care of his daily needs to repay him for saving her life.

An Qi was a woman, so she couldn't be too blunt. But she thought that after saying all that, Lu Xuchen would surely understand that she wanted to marry him.

Lu Xuchen heard her out and did not refuse, so An Qi followed him back to the capital and moved into a modest little house.

The house was small, but it offered a sense of stability and security.

Yet half a year passed, and An Qi still hadn't heard Lu Xuchen say he wanted to marry her.

Then one day, she saw Lu Xuchen take a beautiful young woman to the finest gold and silver shop in the capital to pick out jewelry. That was when she learned that Lu Xuchen was actually the famous heir to the Marquis of Nangong, and that he already had a formal betrothal.

That night, An Qi gazed at the little courtyard where she lived and fell silent for a long time.

So Lu Xuchen had never intended to marry her at all. Then why had he brought her back to the capital and settled her in this little house? Did he mean to take her as an unwed concubine? Or was she merely his kept woman?

An Qi would never be a concubine, much less anyone's kept woman, even if that person was her benefactor.

So she left him a letter and departed, but before she could get out of the city gates, Lu Xuchen caught her and dragged her back.

Lu Xuchen was no longer the gentle, refined man he had once been. He pinned An Qi in a corner, his phoenix eyes bloodshot and filled with a sinister malice she had never seen before. "Weren't you going to repay me? What, you want to run away before you've repaid your debt?"

An Qi had never seen Lu Xuchen like this. She shrank back and asked in a trembling voice, "How do you want me to repay you?"

"However I want. Until I'm satisfied!"

From then on, An Qi became a caged songbird, living only to please Lu Xuchen.

But even a songbird wanted a world of her own.

She pretended to go along with him, sneaked through a dog hole, and tried to escape again and again. At last, she finally got away and returned to Jiangnan.

Three years later, when An Qi saw Lu Xuchen again, his hair was disheveled and his face haggard.

He approached her cautiously, asking only that she look at him one more time.

Reader's Guide:

1. 1v1, single-couple, happy ending

2. Set in an alternate world, no historical research required

3. This story contains forced possession and old-school melodramatic tropes. Read with caution if you dislike them.

Preorder: The Crown Prince Poses for Me. Please add it to your library. Thank you!

[Blurb]

Ban Tang was the only daughter of Ban Yin, a wealthy liquor magnate in Jiangsu and Zhejiang whose fortune could rival a nation. She was beautiful and delicate, captivating every man who saw her. Unfortunately, Ban Tang was already spoken for: years ago, she had been betrothed to Ling Siyuan, heir to the Earl of Cheng'an.

But the closer her wedding date with Ling Siyuan drew, the more anxious Ban Tang became, because she had once accidentally slept with a stranger and given birth to a son.

If she married into the Ling family, the truth about her having a child before marriage would surely come out, and the world would condemn her.

Just as Ban Tang was at her wits' end, the Earl of Cheng'an's household sent word that Ling Siyuan had been ambushed by the enemy on the battlefield and gravely wounded. His life was hanging by a thread, and they asked Ban Tang to marry him as soon as possible to bring him good fortune.

Ban Tang's heart clenched, and she hurried to see Ling Siyuan.

His body was mangled and his face unrecognizable. Even if Ban Tang married him, nothing could save him.

But she agreed to the marriage at once, and three days later, she hurriedly married into the family.

Everyone praised Ban Tang for being not only beautiful but kindhearted as well.

Just as Ban Tang had expected, Ling Siyuan died three days after she married him.

From then on, Ban Tang was a widow.

Though she felt she had wronged Ling Siyuan, Ban Tang genuinely loved being a widow.

She didn't need to please a husband or risk her life bearing children, and her in-laws felt deeply guilty about the marriage meant to bring him good fortune, so they indulged her without limit.

What's more, her dowry was now the greatest fortune around. She won over her parents-in-law, her brother-in-law, and her younger sister-in-law, who all came to adore her.

Ban Tang was easygoing and lazy by nature, so she cast aside all the restraints she'd lived with before marriage and decided to live life on her own terms.

She ate and drank to her heart's content, watched plays, and wandered the marketplaces, doing whatever she pleased.

But at night, when she was alone, she felt quite lonely, so she could only count beans to pass the time.

Then one night, when she returned to her parents' home, she discovered a gardener in the estate's grounds. He was rather handsome and spent all day striking poses and flirting with her. Unable to resist the temptation, she played along with him, never taking it seriously.

Life was wonderful in every way, until one day Ling Siyuan, who had long since passed through the gates of death, appeared before her.

She was astonished and at a loss when the gardener from her parents' home came knocking, carrying a child. He said he had brought their son to meet his mother. But the child in his arms was the son she'd secretly given birth to before marriage and left in her parents' care!

So who was this gardener?

As Ban Tang stood there stunned, everyone around her knelt and cried, "Long live Your Highness!"

Ban Tang fainted on the spot. Could the gardener who had spent all day posing and flirting with her really be the crown prince, the most favored son of the emperor?

Theme: Love is not possession