After I Wooed My Powerful Cousin, He Turned Dark

Main story complete

Beautiful and alluring * cold and sinister

[He once refused to acknowledge her as his cousin, but later insisted she call him Cousin]

Yao Xueqiao found a way into the good graces of a powerful distant relative. He was a high-ranking official, noble and aloof.

In public, he accepted her soft, "Cousin." In private, he brushed away the sleeve she had touched and coldly said, "Miss Yao, don't take this seriously."

Only then did she realize she was insignificant as a blade of grass, deluded to think she could reach so high.

Unexpectedly, a cup of wine led to a romantic indiscretion. Her powerful official cousin took her back to his residence and warned her to behave herself and never cross the line.

She obediently nodded and looked for a suitable match elsewhere.

But the gentle imperial physician gradually distanced himself, and a young nobleman was suddenly sent away to a distant post. Both relationships came to nothing.

Then, during an accident, her cousin risked his life to save her. Mistaking his actions for love, she confessed her feelings, only to receive a cold reminder:

"Miss Yao, you've crossed the line."

The icy severity in his eyes cut her deeply.

She was determined to pluck this flower from the mountaintop.

*

Pei Chengyu was certain he hadn't fallen for her.

This woman was frivolous and delicate, mistaking gratitude for romantic love and whispering words of affection in his ear.

Not long ago, she had returned after spending an enjoyable time with the man she loved. A patch of her lip rouge was missing, making it perfectly clear what they had done.

He saw through the half-sincere affection in the young woman's heart and rejected her indifferently.

On the day they parted at the pavilion, she finally behaved herself, her almond-shaped eyes looking toward her sweetheart.

She addressed him with perfect propriety: "Cousin."

He returned a detached glance, as still as a jade mountain, as though he didn't care.

At last, dressed in her wedding gown, she smiled brilliantly as a flower in the bright sunlight. "Pei Chengyu, I'm getting married."

At that moment, he found it absurdly laughable, and felt a trace of panic he refused to acknowledge.

*

On her wedding night, Yao Xueqiao waited and waited, but the groom never came.

Her once-radiant, noble cousin strode in with a sword. Blood snaked across the floor. His fingertips were stained red as he lifted her chin and spoke a string of crazed words:

"Cousin, why won't you call me Cousin?"

"Your husband is dead, Cousin. I'll drink the wedding cup in his place."

"I'll take his place on your wedding night."

"If you won't obediently wait for me to marry you, I don't mind having an affair with you."

My next novel will be Taken by My Husband from a Past Life. If you're interested, please add it to your reading list. Here's the blurb:

Jiang Qizhen, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's household, is beautiful as an immortal and the most beautiful woman in the capital.

Her life is peaceful and blessed. Her family dotes on her, she shares her ideals with her friends, and recently, an imperial decree bestowed upon her a marriage that everyone envies.

Her betrothed is a member of the imperial clan, addresses the new emperor as "Uncle," and is highly valued by him.

After returning to her family home following the wedding, she and her husband are caught in a sudden downpour. Soaked through and embarrassed, she is pinned beneath a flower trellis beside a rockery.

Through the misty rain, a figure slowly approaches.

Qizhen opens her eyes, a vague sense of unease stirring in her.

Beneath the moon gate stands a handsome man with a clear, refined face. A flash of sickly malice flickers in his eyes, frightening her into shrinking against her husband's chest, cold sweat pouring down her.

She later learns that the new emperor was traveling incognito and staying at the Marquis's residence.

That night, Jiang Qizhen kneels and bangs her forehead against the ground, yet she is still forced into a carriage.

*

The late emperor dies suddenly, and the Ninth Prince ascends the throne.

Raised in the tranquil grounds of a Buddhist temple, the new emperor had never concerned himself with worldly affairs. Free of earthly attachments, he unexpectedly emerged victorious from the succession struggle.

Yet a year after his ascension, the imperial harem remains empty.

The Empress Dowager and the court ministers are frantic, but the new emperor remains unmoved. He doesn't even show his face, instead arranging marriages elsewhere for all the women selected to enter the palace.

Among them is Jiang Qizhen, the most beautiful woman in the capital.

One day, as the new emperor passes the Marquis's residence, he suddenly feels feverish and parched, and a woman's wanton, sensual image appears before his eyes.

He follows the vision. The rose trellis trembles, and the woman, eyes shimmering with desire, clings to a man and kisses him. Their eyes meet unexpectedly.

He is told that she is the Marquis's legitimate daughter, deeply in love with her husband, his nephew.

At a banquet, husband and wife kneel together to give thanks for the imperial favor.

The new emperor's gaze rests on the slight, trembling back of the newlywed woman.

At night, in the forbidden depths of the imperial palace, a carriage rattles down the palace lanes.

The new emperor adds a stick of incense before his late wife's memorial tablet. His eyes darken. "Zhen'er, I've found you."

Behind him, the woman who smiled so brightly during the day stands with her dark hair loose and blood congealing on her forehead. She lifts her black, glistening eyes and calls him Uncle.

Every word is soaked in tears and blood as she begs him to let her go.

[Reading Guide]

1. The male lead is reborn in the Ninth Prince's body and retains his memories of a past life. The second male lead is the male lead's true present-day self and has no memories of a past life. The male lead and second male lead therefore share sensations. The female lead is reborn without her memories, but will remember her past life later.

2. Neither the female lead nor the male lead has had any other partners, in either their past or present lives.

Theme: Persevere and bravely pursue love and happiness.