The Blade at His Waist

In the fifteenth year of Jingning, Chu and Qu clashed in battle. The Fu family forces were defeated at Yongzhou, and one hundred thousand soldiers of Great Qu were buried at Liuyun Shoal.

Fu Jingshi, the youngest daughter of the Fu family, led her troops in retreat to Yecheng and held it for seven days, but no reinforcements ever came.

In the end, the banners fell, and the ground was strewn with blood and ruin.

Of Yongzhou's four cities, she was the only one left alive.

Yet the Fu family was falsely accused of treason.

Fu Jingshi became a prisoner and was thrown into the imperial prison.

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Chu Xuanting was the Crown Prince of Great Qu.

When he went to the imperial prison, he happened to see Fu Jingshi fight back against her executioner with her dying strength. He watched from the passageway for a while before walking over. Then he gently brushed the bloody mark on her brow and asked casually, "Would you be willing to come with me?"

Fu Jingshi opened her eyes through the haze of blood and answered hoarsely, "I would."

Chu Xuanting smiled, the corners of his mouth and eyes lifting, but his words were as cold as a winter wind.

"Endure eighteen kinds of torture, and if you survive, you may enter the Eastern Palace."

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Later, Fu Jingshi entered the Crown Prince's residence, covered in wounds, and became the Eastern Palace's sharpest blade.

But as Chu Xuanting and Fu Jingshi used each other, he fell for her.

He thought she had fallen for him too, so he seized an opportunity to confess his feelings.

Fu Jingshi looked at him and said, word by word, "Your Highness, you shouldn't be so naive."

Chu Xuanting, who never lost his composure in front of others, got utterly drunk that day. Using his drunkenness as an excuse, he caught Fu Jingshi's hand and insisted, half sober and half drunk, "If you've used me, then you can only use me."

He had meant to find himself a blade, never expecting to become the blade himself.

Reading Guide:

1. Updated daily. I'll take a break if something comes up, but I won't abandon the story. Feel free to start reading.

2. Plot-focused, political scheming, fictional setting, lots of original worldbuilding. Please don't overanalyze the historical details.

3. Comments and corrections are welcome.

Coming soon: After Being Taken by Force

Highlight: Tragic ending, over-the-top angst

Zhu Songlan was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Nanyang's household. She was betrothed to Pei Zhihe, heir to the Marquis of Qi'an, from childhood. After Pei Zhihe inherited the title, they married.

After their wedding, they lived in perfect harmony, envied by everyone in the capital.

She thought their days would remain peaceful and happy, but three years later, Emperor Cen died, and Pei Zhihe was accused of poisoning and murdering the emperor.

On the eve of New Year's Eve in the thirty-second year of Tianyou, the Marquis of Qi'an committed suicide out of guilt, and the Marchioness of Qi'an burned herself to death inside the estate.

Afterward, Crown Prince Feng Jue ascended the throne. The Crown Princess entered the central palace and was named empress, while the Crown Prince's secondary consort was made Noble Consort.

During the Lantern Festival, the new emperor ascended the Tower of Rivers and Mountains with the empress and Noble Consort to celebrate with the people. It was then that everyone realized the Noble Consort, who had prayed for her husband at Bai'an Temple ever since marrying the new emperor, looked exactly like the late Marchioness of Qi'an.

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Zhu Songlan and Pei Zhihe had been childhood sweethearts. The three years she spent at the Marquis of Qi'an's estate were the happiest of her life.

So, when Pei Zhihe died, Zhu Songlan picked up a knife and pressed it to her own throat.

But Feng Jue said, "If you die, I'll cut Pei Zhiying to pieces."

Pei Zhiying, known as Xiaoman, was Pei Zhihe's younger brother, the boy who was always smiling as he took her climbing trees and catching crickets.

In the end, she lowered the knife and entered Feng Jue's harem.

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Later, to avenge herself, Zhu Songlan sought out Huai Prince Feng Yu, the late emperor's younger brother.

She knew Feng Yu loved her, so she shamelessly used his feelings for her.

But Feng Yu merely straightened her clothes and said, "It's enough that you came to me."

From then on, he stayed behind Zhu Songlan, becoming a hidden guard who could only dwell in the shadows, never seeing the light of day.

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From the day Zhu Songlan married Pei Zhihe, Feng Jue had been plotting to steal her away.

In the end, he succeeded, but no matter what he did, Zhu Songlan thought only of Pei Zhihe.

So he decided to blind her with poison, then become Pei Zhihe himself.

Theme: Stand on your own feet, grow stronger, and turn the tables