Name: Spring at Yantai
Author: Shu Sanjiang

Synopsis

[New novel, Half a Lifetime of Joy, now available]

[Please bookmark my next novel, Years Drawn Out]

[Mad Empress x Ruthless Powerful Official] [Female Pursues Male by Force]

Xu Yi ascended the throne as a child and was considered a useless emperor by everyone.

As a woman, she was treated like a spineless puppet. The four regents held all the power, especially the Imperial Tutor.

The Imperial Tutor was from the Northern Kingdom, originally sent over as a hostage. For years, he taught Xu Yi literature, strategy, and military tactics. He was peerlessly talented and exceptionally handsome. Rumors had long claimed that one day he would restore his country and reclaim its power. Some even said he might harbor the ambition to seize the throne.

Xu Yi never believed any of it. She saw him as family and trusted him without reservation, until he decided to marry someone else.

The empress, who had been quietly biding her time, bared her claws. She eliminated her old enemies one by one, even imprisoning the Imperial Tutor who had taught her since childhood in a secret dungeon deep in the palace.

The man's legs had been broken. He hung his head and panted, his wrists bound in chains. The man who had once seemed like a celestial being was now a fallen angel.

The empress, eyes red, lifted his chin.

"You said you'd stay with me for the rest of my life, Master."

*

After twelve years as a hostage, Xiao Yunjing knew how cold and cruel people could be.

He had been blinded by a villain in his very first year, his body covered in scars and his life hanging by a thread.

Xu Yi went through every hardship to rescue him, tenderly wiping the filthy blood from his body.

Xiao Yunjing knew her talent, her patience, and how deeply she could scheme.

He had never forgotten that little girl.

Someone asked, "Does the Imperial Tutor really not want to return to your country and reclaim power?"

"No."

"You never wanted to?"

Moonlight spilled through the window and fell across his face, illuminating his elegant, captivating features. "I did. But later, all I wanted was to stay by her side and watch her grow up."

[Reader's Guide]

1. A coming-of-age romance, with a ten-year age gap

2. Both leads are virgins

3. A slight ensemble cast

4. The heroine is a sweet-faced schemer, decisive and ruthless. She loves him, but isn't blinded by love.

Please bookmark Years Drawn Out

[Powerful Official x Princess]

She was the least favored princess.

The emperor had been drunk when he slept with a maid, and she was the child he left behind. By the time she was seven or eight, she still didn't even have a name.

She had a difficult personality, too. When summoned before the emperor, all she could manage was "Mm" and "Ah." She stammered and blushed after only a few words.

In the end, she was mocked by her father and humiliated by her siblings. Even her birth mother became a laughingstock in the inner court because of her.

She was upset, but being as dull-witted as she was, all she could do was feel hurt and angry for a moment, then meekly fall silent.

.

One winter, her sister bound her hands and feet with iron chains and buried her in the freezing snow for amusement.

Just as she was giving up hope and waiting to die, someone suddenly pulled her out.

He wore bright purple robes and a dark cloak. His features were exquisitely elegant and gentle, so handsome she couldn't look away.

He was her father's favorite official, Lord Su. He was also the only person in the palace who called her "Your Highness."

She lowered her head and gave an awkward, uneasy bow.

A faint smile touched Haisu's lips, his expression as calm as a cloud in the sky. "Have you given up on yourself, Your Highness?"

She struggled to speak for a long while before managing, "I'm just a useless princess."

Useless people deserved to die in this palace of magnificent halls.

"Someone once told me that Heaven gives you your life, but you choose the path you walk." Lord Su, who held great power, patted her shoulder. "You're better than your brothers and sisters. No one has ever been willing to pay attention to you, so of course they haven't noticed how good you are."

She froze, lowering her head even further. She didn't understand what he meant.

Lord Su bent down to meet her gaze, smiling as he took in her slightly startled expression.

"I noticed. That's why I'm here to help you. Your Highness can spend your whole life muddling along in silence, treated with contempt even by the servants who wait on you."

"Or," he continued slowly, enunciating every word, "you can let me help you make everyone who ever stepped on you pay the price."

[Please bookmark my upcoming stories]

Historical:

1. Red Marriage: Marriage Before Love, then her husband reveals his true identity

2. Slow Winds and Smoke: After being betrayed, I became my ex's uncle's wife [Revenge against a scumbag]

3. Leyang: A sharp-tongued but soft-hearted crown prince x an innocent, sweet princess

4. The Tale of Yaohua: Bandit Chief x Bewitching Consort [Possessive romance]

5. Twelve Years of Taming a Lonely Fate: A swindling female oracle x a cold-faced prime minister [A chaotic married life]

Xianxia and Fantasy:

1. The Dragon Prince in the East: A silly, sweet dragon prince x a black-hearted female Daoist

2. The Fox: Hot-tempered Fire God x cold, aloof Divine Lord [Marriage Before Love]

Modern: