Carving Today's Joy

[No pirated-readers, please]

Yu Qiushui meets Shen Zhuo at the lowest point in her life.

He rescues her from that filthy place. She thanks him, but he doesn't think much of it. "It was no trouble. Don't give it a second thought."

As time goes on, he does her more and more favors, until she starts to think he might have feelings for her.

Nervously, she asks if he likes her. He gives her only two words in reply.

"I don't."

Yu Qiushui laughs at herself. Of course it was all wishful thinking.

Shen Zhuo will soon return to the capital. Once he leaves, he won't come back. This is her only chance to escape the mire.

Yu Qiushui makes the boldest decision of her life: she repays his kindness with ingratitude and spends one reckless night with him.

She uses it to threaten him into taking her to the capital, saying she'll cling to him otherwise.

He suddenly sheds his cool and aloof manner, his movements rough. "Yu Qiushui, you really haven't changed at all."

At first, she doesn't understand why he says that about her. Then she remembers everything from her past life.

In her previous life, she bullied him, humiliated him, and imprisoned him, crushing his pride and reducing him to a lowly servant.

So all those "small favors" had been deliberate.

He could never have liked her.

Once they reach the capital, she sets him free and returns to the palace, restoring her identity as a princess. He goes on serving as an official, and they become strangers to each other.

Yet when a minister's son asks to marry her at a palace banquet, the first person to object is him.

The man steps forward, back straight and face expressionless, and says something that shocks everyone.

"This subject has already been intimate with Her Highness the Princess. I beg Your Majesty to grant your permission for the Princess and me to marry."

Shen Zhuo thinks he must have been driven mad by Yu Qiushui's torment.

In his previous life, he tutored Yu Qiushui for nearly a year. The princess, who had spent over a decade living among commoners, was already so unruly that he could never shape her into a fine jade. In the end, he gave up and resigned.

But on the night he submitted his resignation, she locked him in a cage, and he never saw daylight again.

She had tormented him so terribly, yet when he saw someone else asking to marry her, the only thought in his mind was that even if she died in this life, she could only be bound to him until the end.

He gazes at her stunned expression and slowly smiles.

Your Highness, how can you give up so easily after tormenting me?

A resilient, life-loving woman × a seemingly cool and self-possessed man who's actually long since become obsessive

One-on-one romance, both leads have only been with each other, happy ending

Neither the heroine nor the hero is perfect

The hero is reborn, and the heroine gradually recovers her memories

Cover character design authorized by artist Xiao Niba

Completed works: Marry Me Today, How to Humiliate a Cold Daoist Lord, Seducing the Fox

Recommended: How Did My Dead Husband Come Back to Life?

Lü Wu knows she's beautiful. She uses her face to marry a county magistrate, hoping he'll get promoted and make a fortune, so she can rise in the world and never again have to put up with other people's scorn.

After they marry, all he does is dote on her. He has no ambition at all.

"If you spend every day like this, how are you going to support me in the future?"

The man's rough hand grips her waist. He only moves, without answering.

Lü Wu urges him to work hard every day, waiting for him to come around. Who knew he would suddenly die, leaving her a young widow?

There's no way she'll spend the rest of her life mourning him. As she packs her things and searches for a way out, she's mistaken for a princess.

The general in charge points to the jade pendant she stole from her dead husband and says it was bestowed by the Emperor when the princess was born.

Just like that, Lü Wu becomes Princess Ji Wu, living in luxury and enjoying herself even more than she did as the county magistrate's wife.

Later, the Emperor plans to arrange a marriage for her. The capital is full of outstanding young men, and Lü Wu is dazzled by the choices. In the end, she picks the talented and handsome heir of the Marquis of Pingnan.

Just after the engagement is set, the Emperor finds his Crown Prince, who had been living among the commoners.

When Lü Wu sees that familiar face, she turns deathly pale.

"A Wu, this is your older brother."

The man stares at her with an unrestrained, inscrutable gaze and calls her "Little Sister A Wu."

But Lü Wu doesn't dare call him Crown Prince Brother.

When she's woken in the middle of the night, she panics and is about to call for help. He threatens her:

"Go ahead and shout. Let them find out that Princess Ji Wu is involved with the Crown Prince, and that she's a fake, too."

Lü Wu is so frightened she starts to cry.

After many days of worry and fear, her wedding day finally arrives.

The door creaks open. Someone enters and lifts her veil.

Lü Wu looks up with a smile, which instantly turns to terror.

From then on, Princess Ji Wu disappears from the palace, and the Eastern Palace gains a Crown Princess.

A palace maid catches a glimpse of the Crown Princess lying in the Crown Prince's arms, her lips slightly parted, her cheeks flushed, and her beauty bewitching.

The servants all know that the Crown Princess cries by day and cries by night.

Lü Wu cries because she's exhausted by his insatiable demands.

"Is the position of Crown Princess enough for you, A Wu?" He pins down the foot she kicks toward him. His callused hand grips her pale ankle, leaving a red mark.

"Or is there something else you want, A Wu? I'll find it for you."

Lü Wu bites her lip, angry and frustrated. "I want you to stay away from me!"

#MyDeadHusbandCameBackToLife

#NotOnlyDidHeComeBackToLife,HeBecameTheCrownPrince

#EvenAsTheCrownPrince,AllHeDoesIsCuddleAndCaressMe

1. One-on-one romance, both leads have only been with each other, happy ending. The leads are not related by blood.

2. The heroine is a beautiful trophy wife who only wants wealth and status. The hero is attracted to her looks at first sight. If that's not your thing, run.

3. The hero is utterly obsessed with the heroine. A rough, rugged man, but he'll learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting to please her.

4. The hero initially hides his true identity, and the heroine has another identity of her own.

Recommended completed work: Marry Me Today

Blurb: On the night of Cen Tingbo's mother's birthday banquet, Jiang Qingyue gets drunk and is invited to stay the night. Thinking they will be married in less than a month, she agrees.

But the next day, she wakes up in his elder brother's bed. He is fully dressed, while she is wearing only a thin undergarment.

In her panic, she hears the man's voice. "You have only two choices: marry me, or be rejected by Cen Tingbo."

Cen Tingbo had told her his elder brother was busy with official duties and wouldn't be coming to the banquet.

Yet last night, he stayed at home and spent a wild night with her.

Jiang Qingyue turns pale. "No, he wouldn't..."

The man's gaze passes over the marks on her shoulder, and he gives an inscrutable sneer.

But just as he said, she is rejected.

Not long after, she hears that Cen Tingbo has been granted a marriage by the Emperor. That night, he comes to find her drunk and refuses to let go of her hand.

"Qingqing, wait for me. Once I earn His Majesty's favor, I'll ask him to grant your hand to me."

As Jiang Qingyue struggles, she sees someone approaching. He pries Cen Tingbo's hand away and throws him to the ground.

The noble man steps in front of her and looks down at Cen Tingbo. "Grant her to you? Do you think you're worthy?"

The night Cen Tingbo comes to see her, Cen Yizhou arrives first, pressuring her father to marry her to him.

She refuses.

But an imperial edict arrives, her father is demoted and imprisoned, and Cen Yizhou suddenly comes to her door.

"Marry me, and you'll be my wife. I'll save your father."

She has no choice but to agree to marry him.

On their wedding night, the man opens his arms. When she doesn't move for a long time, he teases her. "Do you want me to teach you how to serve your husband at bedtime?"

Jiang Qingyue tremblingly helps him take off his clothes.

The red candles go out. Her body trembles as she hears him approach. "We've already done this once, Qingqing. What are you afraid of?"

Cen Yizhou holds a high position and commands wealth and power. He has never envied anyone. Not until his half-brother brings home the woman he loves and becomes engaged to her.

The girl he has coveted for nine years has been taken by someone else.

On the night of the birthday banquet, Cen Yizhou sees her being carried into a room filled with fragrant incense. He has already walked away, but then turns back.

The moment he pushes open the door, the woman, dazed and unaware, clings to him and begs him to save her.

Cen Yizhou looks down at her for a long time, then carries her back to his own room.

If Cen Tingbo doesn't know how to cherish her, then he will.

One-on-one romance, both leads have only been with each other, happy ending

Theme: Rebuild after destruction