My Lord's Wife Is as Beautiful as a Flower

#The Emperor Steals His Subject's Wife, [redacted]#

A scheming beauty and fickle lady x a seemingly gentle but secretly obsessive crown prince

The main story is told from the heroine's point of view.

[The Hero's Point of View]

The first time Crown Prince Chu Jibai saw Qiu Shiyue at a banquet, she timidly tugged at his sleeve, tearfully begging him to protect her. Her face bewitched him, and he stepped in to shield her from her family's abuse.

After that, she did everything she could to seduce him, charming and alluring, until he fell for her.

Who could have guessed that she would show no gratitude for his kindness and turn around to marry the son of a powerful minister?

They were perfectly in love, promising to be together forever.

But then the minister became embroiled in a case, and her husband was thrown into prison.

She came to him again.

Chu Jibai looked at her, unchanged after all these years, her face still the same. He gripped her chin and asked meaningfully:

"Madam Qiu, you wouldn't want your husband to die without a body to bury, would you?"

She accepted him on a rainy night, for her husband's sake.

But before he could save her husband, the man took his own life in prison.

He had thought she loved her husband deeply and would follow him in death.

But the next day, she came to him once more, wearing a gauzy dress and gliding barefoot up the steps of the golden palace.

"Your Highness, please protect me."

[The Heroine's Point of View]

Qiu Shiyue was certain she would never fall in love in this lifetime. Everything she did was for the sake of staying alive. Her mother had passed away, and no one cared for her. Her father had a violent temper and spent his days drinking. He beat her when he was happy, and he beat her when he was angry.

At last, at a banquet, she seized her chance to approach the crown prince, a man with the face of a Buddha and the heart of one too, and begged him for protection.

But the crown prince, far away behind palace walls, could offer only limited protection. Help from afar could not solve her immediate troubles, so she resorted to the same trick again. She found the son of a powerful minister and slowly, softly lured him into marrying her. Only then could she escape her family.

But her good fortune did not last long. The minister's family became embroiled in a case.

The first person she thought of was Crown Prince Chu Jibai.

But the crown prince was no longer the man he had been back then. He could help her, but he would not do so for nothing. After her husband died in prison, she knew there was no turning back.

*

It was during the secret affair, after she had spent who knew how long hiding in the dark corners of the golden palace, that the minister's family was exonerated.

And her husband came back alive.

[The Husband's Point of View]

"My wife suffered the crown prince's violation to save me. The theft of one's wife is a feud that can never be forgiven. She loves me so deeply, and I must get her back!"

[Content Warnings! Must Read]

1. A melodramatic story about forbidden love and betrayal, with an old-school love triangle. The overall tone is bittersweet.

2. The heroine does not fall for anyone at first, and her relationship with the crown prince is purely physical. For now, the heroine is not a virgin, but the male characters are. Readers with high moral standards for the main characters should proceed with caution. Seriously, proceed with caution! If this isn't for you, just move on instead of forcing yourself to read it, QAQ

P.S. This is the only story in my collection that is not a dual-virgin story, but no matter what, the male lead must be a virgin in both body and heart.

Theme: Keep living well.