The Last Days of Spring

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On the eve of Princess Shouchang's wedding, she sent Tumi to the Qin residence as a trial-marriage palace maid, accompanying the bridal dowry.

By custom, that night Tumi had to inspect the prospective prince consort's appearance and abilities herself, then report her findings honestly.

Once the servants had withdrawn, Tumi glanced at Qin Jing, who looked even more awkward than she did, and handed him a document. Timidly, she said, "How about... you write it yourself, General?"

**

Tumi and Qin Jing had been neighbors as children. After her family was convicted of a crime and she was enslaved in the palace, Qin Jing had begged the princess to rescue her.

Overcome with gratitude, Tumi vowed to serve the princess for the rest of her life, but she and Qin Jing became like strangers.

Seeing how close the princess and Qin Jing were, she assumed they were in love with each other.

Only later did she discover that the princess had someone else in her heart, and Qin Jing was merely a cover for her affair.

**

When the princess met her lover in secret, Qin Jing stood guard outside the waterside pavilion, sword in hand beneath the blazing sun. His face peeled from sunburn, but he never complained.

Unable to bear it, Tumi sneaked over to hurry them along. A moment later, her cheeks were aflame and she came rushing out, breathless and flustered.

Qin Jing only thought she looked adorably disheveled. He had no idea what she had seen.

**

The princess was pregnant, but her lover had been banished after offending the emperor.

In this desperate situation, her confidants thought of Qin Jing, who had recently risen to high office.

Afraid he might refuse or let the secret slip, they arranged for him to spend a night with the princess...

Everything went smoothly, except that Tumi was the one who sacrificed her chastity.

On a drizzly spring afternoon, she bit her lip until it bled and cried herself hoarse. She writhed again and again in the crook of his strong arms, reenacting every scene she had witnessed outside the waterside pavilion.

Blurb provisional as of 2024/2/17

/Trial-marriage palace maid x innocent prince consort

/Little waif x wolf in sheep's clothing/

One-on-one romance, happy ending

Content warnings: equal parts sweetness and angst, melodramatic, not a power fantasy.

A delicate heroine, naive and slow to catch on; a scheming hero who has been plotting for a long time.

The heroine has entanglements with other male characters.

Theme: Be resilient like a weed.