After the Beautiful Princess Stole Her Bride

Strategic at every turn / Charming and adaptable playboy x A beautiful, languid / ruthless princess

When she was eight,

Xie Qinghan knelt on the ground, blocking Princess Guangning Shen Zhao, who wanted to skip class and sneak out of the palace to play. "His Majesty forbids you from leaving the palace, Princess."

Shen Zhao's gaze turned dangerous. She grabbed Xie Qinghan by the ear and lifted her up. "Who told you to stand in my way?"

With one ear pinched, Xie Qinghan squeezed her eyes shut. "If Your Highness insists on leaving, then you'll have to step over my dead body."

Beneath the sun, a rosy flush spread across her pale skin, and her ear turned as red as blood.

At the time, Shen Zhao thought she was kind of cute.

Xie Qinghan thought the princess was cruel and that she should stay as far away from her as possible in the future.

Later, Princess Guangning was adored by everyone and wielded immense power. Everything around her was utterly boring. The only thing that brought her a little comfort was having this adorable young lady official by her side every day.

And so, for reasons she couldn't explain, Xie Qinghan kept running into Shen Zhao every day. Shen Zhao deliberately made things difficult for her, and even sent her to the princess's residence as a female official responsible for teaching her about sex.

Everyone in the palace was green with envy. They all said Princess Guangning was ruthless, yet she obeyed Xie Qinghan in everything and treated her with tender affection.

Only Xie Qinghan knew how those jade-white feet with their crimson-painted toes trampled and humiliated her beneath the green gauze canopy at night.

Xie Qinghan used every trick she could think of and finally received an imperial marriage decree to wed a young nobleman from a prestigious family, a man with the brightest prospects of rising to the highest ranks of court.

She was thrilled to finally be leaving the palace.

But on her wedding night, the groom was nowhere to be found.

Xie Qinghan went to the groom's residence and opened the door, only to see the young man bound on the floor, looking utterly wretched.

The sedan curtain was lifted, revealing a face as lovely as a hibiscus fresh from the water.

Shen Zhao sat in her phoenix crown and bridal robes, looking at her coldly. "Are you that desperate to get married?"

Xie Qinghan was utterly despairing. She thought that if the cruel princess didn't want her to marry, she would probably have to remain at her side forever as a servant.

That night, Shen Zhao knelt beside her and coaxed her gently. "Qingqing, I can give you everything he can. Why can't you be with me?"

Xie Qinghan was so furious that her eyes reddened. "Can you just die?"

Shen Zhao kissed her blood-red earlobe and chuckled. "I can do that, too."

Theme: Pursue your dreams and forge ahead