The Inherited Imperial Sister-in-Law

1.

After falling into the water one day, Gu Ciyun discovers that he is a disposable character in a political-intrigue novel.

Though he is the eldest son of a duke's household, Gu Ciyun has been betrothed to the crown prince since childhood. But on the day the crown prince ascends the throne, the male lead, Feng Hengwu, returns to the capital at the head of a rebel army, wipes out the crown prince's faction, seizes power, and renames the dynasty Tian.

Gu Ciyun's family is among the crown prince's faction that gets wiped out.

To change his fate, Gu Ciyun seeks out the male lead, who is still living in the Cold Palace.

At the time, the male lead is still young. His mother has just been given poisoned wine and condemned to death for treason, leaving him isolated and helpless in the Cold Palace, where the palace maids and eunuchs bully him at will.

As he plots, Gu Ciyun drives away everyone who bullies the boy. In winter, he brings him padded clothes to keep warm. He even risks his life on a hunting trip outside the palace to rescue him from the jaws of a wild beast.

2.

Feng Hengwu has known little tenderness in his life. Gu Ciyun is all the tenderness he has ever had.

But he never expected that on the day his eldest brother ascended the throne, Gu Ciyun, the person who had treated him best, would plunge a short blade into his chest, leaving behind only a slender figure drifting away with the scent of plum blossoms.

"Hengwu, if you must blame someone, blame the fact that you were born into the imperial family."

3.

In the third year of Yusheng, the Fifth Prince, Feng Hengwu, leads his troops in rebellion, storms the palace, and usurps the throne. The old emperor dies, and the Tian Dynasty changes hands.

Inside Guangling Hall, the former emperor's husband, once The Outcast, is thrown onto the soft bed beneath the red gauze curtains.

Feng Hengwu bends down and grips Gu Ciyun's gaunt chin. His deep eyes gleam coldly. "Elder Sister-in-Law, for the past three years, it was thinking of you that drove me to claim this throne."

Everyone in the court knows that back then, Gu Ciyun pretended to approach the Fifth Prince to help the crown prince claim the throne, only to turn on him and stab him in the back.

The new emperor is brutal and vindictive. Now that he has confined Gu Ciyun in the palace, he must be planning a terrible revenge.

But only the eunuch closest to the new emperor knows that every night, the new emperor visits Guangling Hall, now demoted to a Cold Palace. He holds his former sister-in-law, whose health is failing by the day, and forces him to drink bowl after bowl of bitter, nearly undrinkable medicine.

4.

During the years after Gu Ciyun's death, Feng Hengwu would often hold Gu Ciyun's pale, gaunt body.

He would always remember the first time he met Gu Ciyun, when he was five years old. At the time, his mother had not yet been given poisoned wine and condemned to death for treason.

He went with the other princes to see the crown prince's future bride. There, beneath a plum tree, stood a gentle, jade-like young man.

The young man bent down and patted his head. In a timid voice, he called out, "Elder Sister-in-Law..."

He never imagined that this one title would become his lifelong obsession.

A sickly beauty who is tolerant, gentle, kind, and clear-headed, the uke x a weak and pitiful seme in the beginning, but ruthless later, who steals the one he loves

Reader's Guide

1. An old-fashioned, ridiculously melodramatic story, a veritable hodgepodge of clichés. It includes a fake death, and the seme and uke don't communicate. Not recommended for readers with extreme preferences.

2. The seme is ruthless and dark-hearted, steals the one he loves, and is a master schemer. He is a complete madman with severe character flaws. If you can't accept protagonists with flaws, don't read this.

3. Younger seme! The seme is five years younger than the uke.

4. Set in an alternate history. The author is utterly ignorant, so please don't overanalyze the historical errors in the story.

5. Written to indulge the author's kinks. It gets angsty, so readers with weak hearts should take care. The author is not responsible if you get upset.

6. Happy ending. One-on-one physically. The uke has never had a physical relationship with the original seme.

[Blurb written on 2024.12.2]

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