To undergo major revisions. Updates suspended.
Blurb:
The heroine is starved for affection and eager to marry, but clear-eyed about life. A fake marriage turns into real love as she tames a troublemaking demon.
The hero is brash and arrogant, a devoted wife-doter who pretends to be a wastrel but is really a prince, biding his time for revenge and the throne.
Li Xi'er was never favored as a child. Her father didn't care for her, and her mother didn't love her, so she learned a craft from the elderly man next door. To her surprise, her master turned out to be a celebrated carving artist.
After mastering the craft, she found that every last coin she had earned through years of hard work was taken by her parents.
For the sake of money, they even planned to marry her off to a wealthy wastrel. Li Xi'er was heartbroken and insisted on marrying a penniless, down-and-out scholar instead.
After the wedding, she served her mother-in-law and cared for her sister-in-law. Just as she had finally hoped to see her husband pass the palace exams and become the top scholar, he turned around and married a princess...
By the time Li Xi'er was worn out and seriously ill, she was abandoned in the vast snowy wilderness.
Reborn, Li Xi'er flees the city in the middle of the night to escape her bloodthirsty, exploitative parents and older brother.
Unexpectedly, she runs into the wealthy wastrel she had refused to marry, Zhang Ting, the "Little Tyrant of Jinling."
They say he holds a grudge.
Li Xi'er: Maybe I should come ask for your hand in marriage, so you can reject me for once...
One-on-one romance, happy ending.
Coming soon: My Neighbor Is the Chief Minister (Reborn)
Li Yin'er was the legitimate daughter of a general. Gentle and composed, well-read, mannerly, filial, and capable, she had so many suitors that they nearly wore down the threshold of the Li residence.
Her mother was busy finding her a husband, but Li Yin'er liked none of the candidates. In secret, she had fallen for the cold, bookish man next door, Zhao Siheng.
Unfortunately, his ambition was to serve the nation and govern its people. He had no time for romance.
Later, her mother fell seriously ill and died with regrets. Her own father, egged on by her uncle and aunt, sent her into the palace.
When they met again eight years later, he was the emperor's most trusted minister, and she was the emperor's most favored consort.
That day, Li Yin'er held a vermilion brush and looked down at Zhao Siheng, kneeling below the steps.
His life was in her hands.
The power he wanted lay beneath her brush.
She had achieved every ambition he could not.
For a moment, Li Yin'er felt the satisfaction of revenge. Sitting regally on the high dais, her phoenix eyes dark, she said with thinly veiled scorn:
"Lord Zhao, it's been a long time."
Zhao Siheng stood as straight and graceful as jade. His gaze was calm, with even a hint of pity.
Li Yin'er knew he had no regrets.
She was lost and helpless, unwilling to accept it yet humiliated all the same. She no longer wanted to be trapped in a game with no outcome, so she raised her hand, setting him free and letting herself go, too.
Reborn, Li Yin'er wants only to cure her mother's old illness, leave the palace's enclosing walls behind, and live a simple, free life.
One-on-one romance, both leads sexually inexperienced, happy ending.
Theme: Keep striving upward, even in adversity.
? How come this article is still a little baby?
It looks good~ Come on!