The Gilded Cage (Both Reborn)

Yu Zhi is the daughter of the Minister of Works. Beautiful, graceful, and gentle, she has been betrothed to the Crown Prince since childhood. But then the Crown Prince fell from power and was sent to the border to fight off invaders, forbidden to return to the capital without an imperial summons. Her father switched his allegiance to the increasingly powerful Prince Wei. To prove his loyalty, he helped Prince Wei bring down the Crown Prince's maternal family, leading to their entire clan being slaughtered and never rising again. Three years later, the emperor died. The Crown Prince returned at the head of a hundred thousand troops, stormed the palace, slaughtered Prince Wei and all his advisors, and ascended the throne as the new emperor. The entire Yu family was sentenced to execution. In prison, Yu Zhi, who had just become Princess Wei, was roughly dragged out and brought to the palace, where she was forced to kneel before the new emperor. The young man who had once been her childhood sweetheart stared at her with dark eyes, murderous and cruel. He lifted her chin and asked scornfully, “A Zhi, do you want to save your family?” He imprisoned her in the palace, treating her as a plaything and tormenting and humiliating her night after night. He used to love her innocent sweetness and flower-like smile. Now, he found it even more pleasing to see tears in her eyes as she swallowed her humiliation and tried to please him. Yu Zhi endured every indignity, humbling herself and begging for mercy in every way she could. In the end, all she got was the day he placed the severed heads of her father and brothers in a box and presented them to her. “I'm bored of playing.” He ground his foot against her father's head, smiling with cold cruelty as he looked down at her like she was the lowest sort of whore. Yu Zhi was utterly devastated. That night, she plunged a hairpin into her neck and killed herself, only to be reborn at fifteen, the year she was betrothed to the Crown Prince. Reborn, Yu Zhi decides to stay far away from this calamity. At a palace banquet, she pretends to be drunk and throws herself into Prince Qi's arms. Prince Qi is the late emperor's fifth son. He spends his days eating, drinking, having fun, and fighting crickets. He's completely uninterested in power and won't be purged in the future, making him the perfect person to turn to. In the woods beneath the night sky, her cheek brushed against the young man's chest. Her voice was soft and sweet, her face shy. “This humble girl has admired Your Highness for a long time. I beg you to show me favor.” “Oh?” A familiar voice came from above her, deep and distinguished, with a hint of amusement. “In that case, I can't very well turn down your kind offer.” It was him! Yu Zhi went rigid, then struggled frantically, but he silenced her with a kiss before she could say anything. How could it be that even after being reborn, she still couldn't escape this calamity? Both leads are reborn. The male lead was a bastard in his previous life, and he's… still a bastard in this one. Coming soon: The Emperor and the Regent (Disguised as a Man). Please add it to your favorites! A gentle, compassionate heroine who cares for the realm × an ambitious, ruthless hero Three years ago, the late emperor died. On the night before the nineteen-year-old Crown Prince's coronation, he suddenly fell gravely ill and slipped into a coma. At the time, Great Zhou was beset by internal turmoil and external threats. To keep a firm hold on power, Empress Dowager Zhang forced Princess Su Rong, who was close to the Crown Prince in both appearance and age, to disguise herself as a man and take his place on the throne. They intended to switch back once the Crown Prince recovered, but the poison in his body proved impossible to remove, and he never woke up. For the next three years, Su Rong was forced to live as a man and serve as a nominal emperor in the Crown Prince's place, doing her best to keep the crumbling dynasty afloat. Su Rong came from a humble background. She had never had enough to eat or warm clothes, and had never enjoyed a day of princessly privilege. She'd had to live at the mercy of others. Though this had made her timid and sensitive, she had retained her kind nature, cared deeply for the people, and done her best to be a good emperor. But one person could not stop the dynasty from collapsing. A rebellion broke out in the southern borderlands, and the rebels marched straight for Chang'an. To save the imperial family, the empress dowager sought help from Prince of Jian'an Shen Jin, promising him the position of regent if he sent troops to suppress the rebellion. The rebellion was put down quickly. The Regent Shen Jin entered the Xuanzheng Hall in armor, sword in hand, radiating bloodlust and murderous intent. Everyone saw the layers of dried bloodstains on his armor and held their breath for the frail young emperor on the throne. Everyone knew that the late emperor had once heeded slanderous rumors and slaughtered the entire Shen family, more than a hundred people, including the Prince of Zhennan, Shen Boyuan. Only his young son Shen Jin had escaped. Now the balance of power had shifted, and the regent was unlikely to spare the Zhao imperial family. Especially the “Crown Prince” sitting on the throne. The Regent Shen Jin is ruthless and hard-hearted. He has only one wish in life: to wipe out the entire Zhao family and take their place. At first, when he looked at the emperor on the throne, as frail as a lamb, he thought only of how to slowly torture him to death. The crueler, the better; the crueler it was, the more it would soothe his hatred. Later, as he gazed at that long, snow-white neck, all he could think was how beautiful it was. Wouldn't it be even more satisfying to bite right through it? Both leads are virgins. The male lead is a little unhinged, and he's a real bastard in the middle of the story. The heroine is twenty, and the hero is twenty-three. The heroine's gender is revealed early. This is not a story about a strong heroine. Set in a fictionalized late-to-mid Tang dynasty. A historical mash-up, so don't take the details too seriously. Theme: Change your life