A Wife with Two Faces

[Love After Marriage, the clingy newlywed couple discovers a whole new world]

[They get married and share a bridal chamber right from the start, hehe]

Blurb:

Xu Chunming came from a family of distinction. Her parents were devoted to each other, and her elder brother doted on her.

After her coming-of-age ceremony, she married Zhou Xuguang, the Heir of Prince Liang, as her parents had arranged through a matchmaker.

Their families were equally well matched, and they were just as well matched in looks. They made a perfect couple.

There was only one problem: Zhou Xuguang loved the people more than he loved beautiful women, and devoted himself entirely to government affairs. Even on their wedding night, he was busy handling official matters, leaving his bride alone in their bridal chamber.

He was a good official, but not a good husband.

Some said the noble young lady couldn't endure her husband's coldness, and that the two of them would eventually fall out.

Xu Chunming chuckled.

Her mother had made sure her father took only one wife. How could she possibly be some innocent little flower?

**

Zhou Xuguang believed that a man should marry a virtuous wife.

She would manage the household and take charge of the family, while he would serve loyally and rise through the ranks. As husband and wife, they'd be one, a perfect match.

He was very pleased with his new bride, Xu Chunming. She came from a good family, had a pleasant disposition, and was both graceful and proper.

Until, on their wedding night, Zhou Xuguang finished his government work and returned to their room to consummate the marriage.

After a night of passionate lovemaking, his wife's enthusiasm caught him completely off guard.

The next morning.

For the first time in his life, he slept past the hour he was supposed to get up.

When he got out of bed, his legs were so weak he nearly fell over.

His back was covered in scratches, and even moving his arm hurt.

Through the dressing table mirror, Zhou Xuguang saw his wife on the bed. The woman who had always seemed virtuous, elegant, and dignified was wearing a smug, mischievous smile.

Faced with his wife's startlingly different side, Zhou Xuguang left the bridal chamber with a headache.

That afternoon, though, he returned to the residence half an hour earlier than usual.

From then on, the Heir of Prince Liang, Zhou Xuguang, was never again seen arriving early and leaving late at the palace.

Coming soon: My Empress's Consort Is Quick-Witted. Collect it if you enjoy historical romance.

[Blurb]

Back when my grandfather was still emperor, there was already a censor at court whom he couldn't stand.

The kind of official who would bang his head against a pillar to protest, even if it killed him.

My imperial grandfather was afraid the official historians would write that he was a tyrant who had driven a minister to his death, so he put up with it.

To avenge my grandfather, I secretly made trouble for that censor time and again.

But even by the time I ascended the throne, the censor hadn't smashed his head in. He'd become a respected minister who had served three reigns.

I wasn't as merciful as my grandfather and father. He wanted to bang his head against a pillar and die for a place in the history books? I'd let him.

Not only did I refuse to have anyone hold him back, I urged him to hurry up and do it.

When he realized that trick wouldn't work on me, the censor tried another approach.

He sent his youngest daughter to the palace to become my consort.

That very night, I went to her chambers.

Who would have thought that the daughter of a censor famed for his eloquence would be a stutterer?

What a joke.

From then on, whenever he made me angry at court, I went to the harem to mock his daughter.

They say the child of a stubborn person is stubborn, too.

My little consort practiced every day, facing the corner. She wore her tongue raw but refused to give up, and somehow she really did stop stuttering.

She also grew more and more quick-witted, always eager to speak up and argue whenever she saw something unjust.

Just like that annoying father of hers.

She talked so much my ears rang, and I couldn't sleep at night.

I wanted to send her to the Cold Palace, as far away from me as possible.

But by then, she'd already been made Noble Consort. With no empress in the harem, she was in charge.

And the crucial thing was, I was the one who had personally issued the decree promoting her.

If I stripped her of her title, wouldn't I be making a fool of myself?

Sigh, what a dilemma.

Note: The main story is told from the heroine's perspective.

Theme: Don't judge a person by appearances.