After the Prince Regent Took Me by Force

She was a woman who could not be spoken of: a cousin who came to seek refuge in the prince's manor, unmarried but pregnant, her reputation in tatters.

On the day she gave birth, she remembered her previous life. Liu Ning had stained her hands with countless deaths to become empress, and spent her entire life committing evil. She had never expected that the emperor, who had once loved her so devotedly, would take her life with a vial of poison...

Only that man had been the exception!

Reborn, she made the regent soften his heart and take in her and her child. Liu Ning diligently played the sweet, innocent flower, currying favor with the prince and offering herself to him, until she secured the position of princess consort!

Her hair was tousled, her vermilion lips bitten raw. "Your Highness, I can't take any more!"

"Are you dead yet?" Song Suchao knew perfectly well that Liu Ning was a cold-hearted woman. She brazenly trampled on other people's sincere feelings.

But the princess consort was gentle and beautiful, and she wept as she told him she didn't mind being an ill-matched couple with him!

"Liu Ning." Song Suchao stood there like a proud, icy moon, every word cutting down like a blade. "You love power and status, and your mouth is full of lies. I suspect you've been scheming from the very day you claimed to love my elder brother."

"Your Highness has never loved me, so how can you know I can't truly love someone?" Liu Ning replied, holding the snowball in her arms. "Your Highness, it's cold outside. Why not come in and see the child?"

"Cousin, you've played your hand well!" Song Suchao sneered, only now realizing what she had been relying on to keep him in her grasp.

By a twist of fate, the princess consort became pregnant again, only to be assassinated by a spy sent by the emperor. Song Suchao went completely mad. "Elder Brother, why slaughter an innocent woman too?"

Only then did he finally understand! His elder brother had toyed with his princess consort solely to secure an heir, and had never felt a thing for her!

Six years passed. Song Suchao had become a ruthless instrument of slaughter, spending countless nights consumed by regret. The woman he loved, his princess consort, was dead.

His elder brother was deposed, and everyone his princess consort had hated was made to suffer a fate worse than death. When Emperor Yun of the Northern Kingdom arrived at court with his empress, Song Suchao saw that familiar face. Stumbling over to her, he fell to his knees before her. He no longer cared who loved whom more, or whether she would use him. He only begged her to give him another chance.

[Reborn, pregnancy before marriage, marriage first and love later, a husband pursuing his wife after a painful breakup]

[Next historical novel: The Eunuch's Favor]

In the fifth year of being the emperor's favorite, Zhang Pianran remained haughty and arrogant, every bit as spoiled as ever.

Everyone said she was never satisfied. They constantly reminded her that although she held the title of Noble Consort, she was effectively the empress.

Then one day, the unease in Zhang Pianran's heart proved justified. She unexpectedly learned one of the emperor's secrets! The person he loved most was indeed not her, but the palace maid who had depended on him when he was at his lowest. His relationship with Zhang Pianran had all been an act.

She cried out, "Think back to when we first met. You were the least important prince. If the crown prince hadn't suddenly died, you would never have taken the throne without my family supporting you!"

"Noble Consort, what madness is this?"

Why was it that after that little palace maid entered the palace, she was exceptionally promoted to Consort Rou and showered with the emperor's favor?

And when Zhang Pianran got jealous on his behalf, she was called mad? Once, she too had been the apple of someone's eye. Sadly, that upright, proper woman who had always followed the rules was already dead.

That night, for the first time, she felt utterly disheartened, and resolved to stop competing for the emperor's favor.

A rainstorm broke out. Just as she was about to faint, the chief eunuch at the emperor's side helped her up. "My lady, be careful."

She laughed bitterly in anger. "Look at that. Even the chief eunuch, who used to be at odds with me, pities me now."

As the emperor's all-powerful chief eunuch, he had a refined, noble bearing and was as beautiful as a fine jade from Langya. He hardly seemed like a eunuch at all. Stranger still, there was an indescribable, sensual look in his eyes whenever he gazed at her. Zhang Pianran felt as though thorns were pricking her back. Surely she couldn't become a eunuch's lover just to help the accursed emperor meet his end?

Huo Xiyou gently wiped away her tears. "My lady, do you want revenge for the crown prince? This servant will help you, even if it means becoming a sinner for the ages."

Theme: Love is written in the stars.