Mistaken for the Crown Prince's Concubine

Su He went to the capital in search of her husband, only to be forced into the Eastern Palace as the most favored concubine. Crown Prince Xiao Ye was stern and severe, with no interest in women, yet he singled her out for his affection.

Everyone said she was lucky, that she had risen from a humble branch to become a phoenix. But only Su He knew how the Crown Prince treated her like a plaything, humiliating and possessing her night after night.

To stay alive, she endured everything, growing numb little by little,

until the day she saw the imperial grandson return home. Only then did her lifeless heart begin to stir.

*

No one knew that the imperial grandson was the husband Su He had lost. They had once pledged their love in a thatched hut in the mountains, but later he vanished without a trace.

She had gone to the capital to find him, only to become his stepmother.

When they met again, he was still like the bright moon above the world, always drawing her gaze.

Su He thought she had hidden her feelings well. She never imagined that, when no one was looking, the Crown Prince would watch her with bloodshot eyes... as if he wanted to devour her.

*

That night, the imperial grandson stood outside the study, listening to a woman sobbing within, yet his eyes brimmed with a chilling, domineering coldness.

With only a wall between them, Su He and the Crown Prince were entwined in passion inside. She knew her former husband stood outside the door. Panicked, she tried to flee, but the Crown Prince trapped her against the desk.

His face faintly flushed, he leaned close to her ear and asked with a half-smile, "Tell me, who is it that you truly love?"

*

Xiao Ye had never been one to covet women, but after meeting Su He, he developed feelings for her unlike any he had known. He wanted more from her: her body, her heart... everything should belong to him.

Then he learned that Su He and his son had once been in love, had pledged their hearts to each other, and even had a child.

Jealousy drove him mad. He wanted to lock Su He away, where she would belong to him alone.

A resilient wildflower heroine VS a gloomy, obsessive Crown Prince who looks human but is anything but VS a gentle, refined, self-disciplined imperial grandson

---The next novel, The First Year as a Consort, is introduced below:

Su Liangyi and Xie Heng married young and had been in love for many years.

She stood by him as he rose from obscurity to claim the throne. She was the cherished daughter of a noble family, and he was an ambitious, spirited emperor.

Almost everyone believed she would naturally become empress,

but after the coronation ceremony, Xie Heng turned around and made a general's daughter empress instead.

With red-rimmed eyes, Su Liangyi clutched the imperial edict naming the new empress and confronted Xie Heng. He stroked her head and softly comforted her.

He said the court was unstable, and the general's daughter was the best choice for empress.

Remembering their tender moments together, she believed he had his reasons.

She could only wipe away her tears and choose to endure.

In the fourth year of the Dajin era, Su Liangyi risked her life to give birth to a prince,

but Xie Heng heartlessly took the child away and handed him over to the empress to raise.

He said that, to keep the harem balanced, any child she bore had to be registered as the empress's.

Su Liangyi had wept and pleaded, had made a scene, but all she got in return was the man's curt reply: "The greater good comes first."

After that, she became meek and accommodating, yielding at every turn, hoping the empress would care for her child properly if she proved obedient.

But the baby in the swaddling clothes never opened his eyes again. Holding his tiny body, she was left cold and despairing.

At the funeral hall, the empress leaned against Xie Zhao, wearing an innocent expression as she claimed the child's death had nothing to do with her.

Xie Heng believed her without hesitation and calmly consoled Su Liangyi. "The empress is virtuous and gentle. She would never do such a thing. Besides, it is not unusual for an infant to die. We will have more children in the future."

In that moment, Su Liangyi finally saw the truth:

all their former affection had existed only in her imagination.

The Third Prince, Xie Heng, had spent years lying low in the imperial palace. His sole desire in life was the throne.

To him, marrying Su Liangyi, a noblewoman, had been an excellent move. In his eyes, she was gentle and devoted, a wife without flaw.

Later, he got his wish and became emperor. To stabilize the turbulent court, he made a general's daughter empress.

Xie Heng was certain Su Liangyi loved him deeply. Whatever choices he made, she understood the bigger picture and would understand his actions.

He could always make up for everything he owed Su Liangyi once the court had settled down.

But before he could carry out his plans, a sudden fire swept through the palace halls and took Su Liangyi's life.

Everyone watched the emperor kneel amid the ruins, clutching the charred corpse so tightly that he would not let go, as two streams of scorching tears fell silently down his face.

From then on, the vast empire would be his for the taking,

but the woman he had so carelessly taken for granted, believing she would never leave, would never return.

Reader Notes

1. The heroine is not a virgin, the Crown Prince is not a virgin, and the imperial grandson is a virgin. The Crown Prince is not chaste, so this premise cannot have everyone be each other's first. At the beginning, however, only the heroine is touched, and while she is the Crown Prince's concubine, she has no intimate relationship with the imperial grandson.

2. This blurb was finalized on December 7 and has been archived in a screenshot. Many thanks to my mentor.

3. This is a story of taking someone by force. The Crown Prince is a real bastard early on. Please do not offer writing advice. This is a story written to indulge my tastes. If you dislike this premise, don't read it. Don't read the whole thing despite knowing you can't accept it, then come insult me afterward. The writing is unpolished and the plot is naive. I know my shortcomings and will gradually improve, but if you can't accept this premise, don't read it.

Theme: Longing brings no comfort