After Provoking My Obsessive Imperial Brother

Seeking readers for upcoming novels: My Brooding Ex-Husband Has His Eye on Me and I Wandered into My Rival's Erotic Dream

Back then, Xu Nanxin had looked up to her imperial brother, Qin Yi, with nothing but admiration.

She was the unwanted stepchild her birth mother, a noble consort, had brought into the palace. Hoping to avoid the political marriage that had ruined her in her previous life, she deliberately ingratiated herself with her newly enthroned imperial brother, praying he might take pity on her and help.

Her imperial brother was refined and noble, with an extraordinary bearing. His phoenix eyes were cool and piercing, and they always made her uneasy.

But eventually, the two of them grew close.

He would visit her palace from time to time, patiently offer guidance on her calligraphy and painting, and even take her hunting with him...

She thought that having such a wonderful imperial brother in this life was a blessing she had earned over three lifetimes. She never noticed that, at some point, his gaze had grown increasingly profound and inscrutable.

Day after day of tenderness made her naively believe that they had truly developed a bond as siblings, and that the calamity of her previous life was far behind her.

But one day, the truth came crashing down.

Beneath his refined exterior lay nothing but cold-hearted cruelty. He had never thought much of her. He had long intended to send her away in a political marriage to die. He had only ever been using her...

Even the sky collapsing around her could hardly have been worse.

After she had cried her fill, she asked to leave the palace, willing to give up her life as a princess, with all its finery and comforts.

The young emperor sat upon his throne in the grand hall.

When he heard her request to leave, he calmly agreed. "If leaving is what you want..."

Yet dark clouds churned in his eyes.

Later, despite her already being engaged, he forcibly brought her back to the palace.

The red candles in the Golden Hall burned through the night.

From then on, the palace had one fewer princess and one more favored beauty.

After the storm had passed, he quietly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

At first, he truly had looked down on this stepsister of his. But who could blame him when she kept approaching him and provoking him? Whether she wanted it or not, he would never let her go, not in this life or the next.

But he had never expected her to run away.

[Strong, Gentle Princess Who Never Gives In x Arrogant, Obsessive Emperor]

Old-school melodrama / Possessive pursuit / The powerful one gives in, then gets his comeuppance

One-on-one romance, both leads sexually inexperienced, happy ending

The leads are not related by blood. When they fall in love, the heroine is no longer a princess.

Fictional setting, no historical fact-checking

Blurb published September 28, 2024, revised February 28, 2025

Upcoming novel: My Brooding Ex-Husband Has His Eye on Me

[Gentle, Insecure Heroine x Hero Who Is Madly in Love with Her but Pretends to Be Cold and Indifferent]

Lin Shuxiang was just the daughter of an ordinary family, mild-mannered and unremarkable, with no name to speak of in the capital, where the powerful were everywhere.

Who could have guessed that an old letter honoring a childhood betrothal would let her marry the current Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Bai Huajing?

But how could a marriage forced upon them ever be harmonious?

After a year of marriage, they treated each other like "ice."

Her husband was impossibly handsome, yet cold and unfeeling. She never saw him during the day; he only came to her room at night. The faint sounds from behind the bed curtains each night were their only communication.

She did not want her husband to treat her coldly, but she also dreaded his endless demands at night.

Still, for the sake of her family's dwindling fortunes, and her parents, who needed costly medicine just to stay alive, she had no choice but to endure it.

One day, her parents passed away.

With nothing left to hold her back, Lin Shuxiang immediately submitted a divorce petition.

After all, she had never been worthy of marrying into such a prestigious family.

She left the capital and returned to her family's ancestral home, where she unexpectedly met a distant cousin.

Ji Hexuan was gentle as jade, like a bright moon beneath a clear sky, and he did not look down on her for her past.

He was the husband she had dreamed of since she was a girl.

Fortunately, it was not too late. They would not miss their chance.

But on the day they planned to go on an outing, her carriage accidentally plunged off a cliff.

When she woke again, she had lost all her memories. She only remembered that she had once had a failed marriage, then met a good man. They spent their days together and were about to marry.

The man sitting beside her bed looked at her with unfathomable eyes.

"A good man? That's right. We're about to marry, and we'll never part, not in this life or the next."

"Your ex-husband, the one you're afraid of? Oh, his name is Ji Hexuan. He's your distant cousin. You married the wrong man back then."

"Me? Bai Huajing, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I've been fortunate enough to have a little power, and I certainly won't let your ex-husband bother you again."

Theme: Love means protecting someone.