A Gentleman Steals the Beauty

Revision and return after a hiatus. Complete within 100,000 characters.

Free story. Feel free to follow or collect.

[Brothers Turn Against Each Other] [Rivalry for the Lead] [A Regretful Pursuit That Fails]

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The marriage pact between the Qin and Xu families was arranged by their ancestors. Just because her elder sister refused, Xu Zhiwei was brought back from the countryside by the Xu family and forced to marry Qin Lubei.

Qin Lubei was a notorious playboy general in the capital, famous for his debauched ways.

Knowing she had married above her station, Xu Zhiwei went out of her way to accommodate him.

She had thought they treated each other with mutual respect.

But the day he learned she was pregnant, Qin Lubei gave her a potion to end the pregnancy without hesitation.

It turned out everything that came before had been wishful thinking on her part.

The next day, before setting off on campaign, her husband entrusted her to a friend and left behind a divorce agreement as well.

Her husband's sworn brother, Xie Xianqing, was an elegant gentleman, famous in the capital for his impeccable manners.

When he took in his friend's wife, unsavory rumors began to spread around the capital.

Afraid of losing this roof over her head, Xu Zhiwei carefully poured Xie Xianqing some tea and tentatively said, "The rumors are ridiculous. You conduct yourself honorably, sir. There's no need to take them to heart."

"What if I do have a guilty conscience?" Xie Xianqing looked straight at her, his desire undisguised.

Xu Zhiwei's hand trembled, spilling most of the tea.

At last, she understood where those snake-like gazes that had licked over her body came from.

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From the day he met Xu Zhiwei, Xie Xianqing found his gaze following her beyond his control.

A man as scrupulous and principled as he was constantly berated himself for his sordid thoughts.

Yet when his friend entrusted his wife to him, he couldn't help feeling a shameful flicker of delight.

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Xu Zhiwei was as tender as water, and Qin Lubei was not made of stone.

But with so many forces in court watching him like tigers, he knew he was unlikely to survive this campaign. The only thing he couldn't let go of was his newly wedded, delicate wife.

His friend was as bright and noble as the moon in the clouds, far beyond reach. Qin Lubei trusted him completely with her care.

He never imagined the danger would fail to kill him, only for him to return and find his beautiful wife nestled in his friend's arms.

He thought his wife was too innocent and naive to betray him.

That shameless bastard must have seduced her.

Qin Lubei burned with rage. He wanted nothing more than to tear off Xie Xianqing's gentlemanly mask and rip him limb from limb.

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"A'Fu, you don't have to feel unworthy of love."

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Love is the moment when you turn away from self-doubt and step into the light.

Self-doubt:

Either sink deeper, step by step, into its cave,

Or turn around,

And await liberation along the road of love.

"Notes from the Sickbed" by Shi Tiesheng

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- Historical fantasy setting, no rebirth or transmigrate-into-a-book elements

- A touch of everyone-is-drawn-to-the-heroine; all men who fall for her are virgins

- The heroine is insecure at first, but grows over time

- The male lead is Xie Xianqing; 1v1, the heroine is a virgin, the hero is not

- The second male lead divorced the heroine before leaving

- Before the divorce, the heroine and male lead had no contact; he had a one-sided crush

Theme: Love yourself before loving someone else.