Name: The Young Lady and Me
Author: Dividing the Lamp at the Dawn Window

Synopsis

An He came down with a high fever as a child. Ever since, she has always been a beat behind in speech and action, and was often mocked for it.

When a famine struck, she was the first one her family gave up, traded by her parents for food.

Fortunately, she caught the eye of Miss Lin, and the Lin household bought her to serve as the young lady's personal maid.

To An He, Miss Lin was like a fairy from the heavens: beautiful, kind, and talented. She was the best young lady in the world.

Then disaster struck, and the entire Lin family was imprisoned. Miss Lin sent An He away.

An He tried everything and ran around everywhere, but she could not change a thing.

Everyone in the Lin family was taken to the capital to be executed.

She settled in a scenic place, built a cenotaph for the Lin family nearby, and planned to spend the rest of her life there.

But her neighbor was so warmhearted that she insisted on finding An He a husband.

An He refused again and again, but the older woman simply brought the man straight to her home.

Before An He could say no, soldiers had surrounded the place.

A man in fine clothes stepped out from among them, his presence intimidating and displeasure visible in his exquisite features.

An He stood frozen, then called out blankly, "Miss."

*

Chu Sui was the current emperor's only son. But political struggles were fierce when he was born, and his birth mother met an untimely death.

To protect him, the emperor sent him to the Lin family, where he was raised as a girl.

At the Lin household, everyone respected him, but no one dared grow close to him.

Chu Sui found it dull. One day, as he passed a slave market, he spotted An He at a glance. She looked dazed and foolish, but very well-behaved.

So An He became his personal maid.

He personally taught An He to read and write, taught her music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, taught her to put herself first, and taught her to stay away from outsiders.

In Chu Sui's eyes, An He belonged to him alone. His was the only person her heart and eyes should hold.

When he received the emperor's order to return to the capital, Chu Sui was very unhappy, but the Lin family had already been found.

To protect An He better, Chu Sui had no choice but to agree to the emperor's plan, though he left people behind to watch over her.

Once he had finally stabilized the situation, word reached him that An He was going to marry.

Furious, Chu Sui immediately led his people through the night to the mountain village where An He lived.

PS:

1. Set in an imaginary world.

2. The Lin family members are not dead.

3. The story starts with him raising her; they are three years apart in age.

4. The heroine was only slow to react as a child; she is not stupid.

5. The romance begins after the heroine comes of age.

Content warnings:

1. The male lead disguises himself as a woman, and does so for the first half of the story.

2. The male lead may be insane.

3. There is a little coercive romance, but not much. Don't read this expecting that.

Coming soon: The Male Favorite Keeps Fighting for Her:

[Bright, resilient princess x scheming, flirtatious green-tea male favorite]

Bai Ying was born into a family of generals. Her parents and elder brother all died on the battlefield, and she was brought into the palace and made a princess.

After she came of age, the emperor arranged an excellent marriage for her. But before the wedding could take place, the emperor died, and the wedding was postponed.

During the mourning period, she discovered that her betrothed was too close to another woman. The new emperor called off the engagement for her.

Bai Ying thought she and the new emperor shared a close sibling bond. Only later did she realize that he had improper designs on her.

At a palace banquet, Bai Ying was drugged, then discovered alone in a room with the young master of the Pei family.

The room was in disarray, and Bai Ying did not explain. Pei Yu also accepted the story, even volunteering to become her male favorite.

Afterward, Bai Ying felt she owed him, so she looked after him in many ways, planning to let him go once the attention died down.

But Pei Yu didn't seem to see it that way. He fussed over her and cared about everything, and was always hostile toward the men around her.

By the time Bai Ying came to her senses, she and Pei Yu had already crossed the line.

*

Pei Yu was an illegitimate son who later became a male favorite.

He originally meant to work hard and make something of himself, but then realized that living off someone else was wonderful.

If that's how it was, he might as well become the princess's capable partner.

There was just one problem: there seemed to be too many people around the princess.