Bewitched by Butterflies

[Another series, Looking at the Moon, also known as The Crown Prince Regretted It Too Late, is now online. Add it to your collection!]

Jiangjiang saved two men in her life.

The first was Shen Lan.

He was lying by the roadside, beaten all over and close to death.

She kindly treated his wounds and cared for him for over ten days, but he told her, "You'll regret this."

Later, Jiangjiang really did regret it.

Shen Lan destroyed her family.

The second man was Xu Mubai, the Fifth Young Master of the Grand Tutor's household. He had fallen from a horse as a child, leaving him with disabled legs and a solitary, ill-tempered nature.

Jiangjiang concealed her identity and entered the Grand Tutor's household as his maid. Intrigued by his leg condition, she took care of him every day.

Before long, Shen Lan discovered where Jiangjiang was hiding, and she had no choice but to flee again.

Shen Lan found the courtyard where she had taken refuge and summoned everyone. If she did not come out, he would kill one person every hour.

Jiangjiang had no choice but to show herself.

Shen Lan lifted her straight onto his horse, tipped up her chin, and laughed. "Where do you think you can run, looking like that?"

Xu Mubai wheeled himself in, dressed in white, his features cool and striking. His voice was firm. "Here."

#Warnings: The heroine has a rough time. Two male leads force her into relationships, and there's another male lead who is her true love. Melodramatic, angsty romance, one woman and three men. She has, well, been with all three male leads.

The next book in the series, Looking at the Moon, also known as His Highness the Crown Prince Regretted It Too Late, is now online:

Xu Mingyue was the least noticeable concubine-born daughter in the Grand Tutor's household, until two distinguished guests arrived there:

One was the exalted Crown Prince, and the other was the blind Ninth Prince.

All her sisters vied for the Crown Prince's favor. Xu Mingyue alone, feeling sympathy for the Ninth Prince because they shared a similar affliction, treated him with special tenderness.

The soft strains of her zither accompanied him through countless nights.

But one day, the Ninth Prince suddenly disappeared. Everyone told her that he had been nothing more than a dream she had imagined.

Just as she began to believe them, the Crown Prince married. She saw the blind boy, now seated high upon the dais, preparing to wed her legitimate elder sister.

Xu Mingyue lowered her eyes, hiding her tears. So the "Ninth Prince" was the real Crown Prince all along. The former "Crown Prince" had only been his stand-in.

And she had been nothing more than a diversion for him.

Much later, Xu Mingyue found true love: Mu Qingyang, the heir of the Duke's household. He was sincere and straightforward, and never deceived or mistreated her.

When Rong Ze learned that Xu Mingyue had married someone else, he sat outside the palace hall that night and crushed the cup in his hand.

The shards pierced his palm. Blood spread and dripped onto the cold stone steps all night.

-

Rong Ze finally attained supreme power, and no one dared question him. He went to the Duke's household to visit the young widow of its heir.

At the time, Xu Mingyue was carrying Mu Qingyang's child. "It's too late. You can never, ever compare to him again."

Rong Ze's eyes darkened. He gripped her chin, his voice terrifyingly hoarse. "Didn't you want revenge for his family? Bear me a child. I'll make you Empress, and you can kill anyone you want."

A zither with a broken string was always kept in Rong Ze's bedchamber.

One snowy night, a palace attendant heard the Emperor sitting alone before the zither, murmuring, "Mingyue, I can't see again..."

But the Empress was in the palace, soothing their child. She never went back to keep him company.

▲ The male lead pursues his wife after losing her + forced relationship

▲ The male lead looks cool and aloof, but is actually skilled in schemes and weighing advantages. He was born to be an emperor.

▲ The second male lead does not end up with the heroine. She gets a happy ending with the male lead, but she never falls in love with him again. They simply stay together, while he goes mad. [Emphasis added]

▲ The heroine married the second male lead and had his child. He is the unforgettable love of her life, the one she can never let go of.

▲ Both male leads are virgins. The heroine marries and has a child with each of them in turn.

Theme: The meaning of family is finding happiness.