Disheveled Clouds of Hair

Xie Wanning is the daughter of the Grand Tutor. When her twin brother mysteriously disappears on the eve of his ordered entry into the palace, she has no choice but to disguise herself as a man and take his place as the Crown Prince's study companion, to keep her family from being implicated.

The Crown Prince, Helan Heng, is unruly and willful, and refuses to be disciplined. Rumor has it he once drove away a renowned scholar of the day.

The emperor and empress are deeply worried. Knowing that the Grand Tutor's son, Xie Wanxing, is a man of impeccable character and refined manners, they specifically order him into the palace to serve as the Crown Prince's study companion and guide him.

Unable to defy the imperial decree, Xie Wanning has to steel herself and keep a close eye on the Crown Prince, advising and correcting him at every turn.

Recently, Helan Heng has found the new study companion extremely irritating.

A girlish, neither-man-nor-woman weakling, yet bold enough to keep trying to control him. He can't scare her away, and she clings to him relentlessly.

So he finds all sorts of ways to tease and torment her.

Until, by chance, he discovers her secret.

Then he finds a new way to keep "tormenting" her.

After an accident, Xie Wanning is schemed against and has to use the Crown Prince as an antidote. The two become intimate, and when he discovers her identity, she has no choice but to play along with him. Yet the way the Crown Prince looks at her seems to grow more and more unusual...

When Xie Wanxing returns to the residence, their identities are restored, and Xie Wanning can finally set down her burden. To keep the Crown Prince from pursuing her, she fakes her death and flees in the middle of the night.

She changes her name and lives in seclusion in a remote place for three years.

Three years later, she hears that the Crown Prince has ascended the throne. The new emperor rules with an iron hand. He is no longer the carefree boy he once was.

At last, she can put her mind at ease. She accepts another man's marriage proposal. Three years have passed, everything has changed, and he has changed so much. Perhaps he has long since forgotten her.

Unexpectedly, on the day of her wedding, the Imperial Guard surrounds the wedding hall, leaving no way in or out.

The palace guards line both sides as a man walks slowly out of the night, dressed in brocade and jade, handsome and imperious.

He draws his sword and holds it to the groom's neck, then turns to her with a faintly mocking smile. "How could I miss Lord Xie's wedding? After all, you said yourself that one day, beneath the glowing red wedding candles, you would marry me."

Xie Wanning's face turns deathly pale as she watches him walk toward her step by step. He leans close to her ear and softly calls her name, "Ningning," with the same tender warmth as before. Yet his voice is unmistakably steeped in burning hatred as he says, each word distinct, "Little. Liar."

1. This blurb was written on March 11, 2024, and a screenshot has been posted on Weibo. Happy ending.

Theme: Deception and coercion are unacceptable.