A Cup of Spring

The story is often revised while it’s being serialized, and pirated copies differ greatly from the original. I’m only responsible for the official version.

[Arrogant, obsessive heir VS gentle, clear-headed maid]

Warning: coercive romance, a chaotic mix of melodrama. Be sure to read the content warnings before deciding whether to start.

Blurb One:

Wen Xingyu had been slow-witted and mild-tempered since childhood. Her one stroke of luck was being rescued as a child by the Old Madam of the Duke of Dingguo’s household, where she became her personal maid.

At eighteen, Wen Xingyu left the household. Not long afterward, the once-prosperous ducal family collapsed overnight, leaving only the heir, Zhu Wuzhi, imprisoned.

To repay the Old Madam’s kindness, Wen Xingyu went to great lengths to rescue Zhu Wuzhi, taking the place of her dying fiancé.

They had no choice but to marry, becoming a pretend couple.

She stayed by his side as he exacted revenge and rose to the highest ranks of the court.

Just as she happily thought she had repaid her debt and could leave with her fiancé’s ashes to live a peaceful life, she accidentally overheard Zhu Wuzhi saying he wanted to take her as a concubine.

Wen Xingyu had no affection for Zhu Wuzhi and did not want to be anyone’s concubine.

So she ran away.

*

Wen Xingyu’s greatest regret was saving an arrogant madman out of a sense of gratitude.

Blurb Two:

From birth, Zhu Wuzhi had enjoyed the finest of service. He would walk only on white jade and wear only brocade woven with gold.

He was an arrogant, heartless young lord and a rakish, carefree gentleman.

Then his family fell, and he was dragged through the mud. The person who rescued him was the foolish maid he had always looked down on.

To hide his identity, he became Wen Xingyu’s pretend husband.

Later, he avenged himself and took control of the court. Only after years together did he realize that he had fallen for Wen Xingyu.

He wanted to take her as a concubine.

At first, Wen Xingyu feared him like a tiger. Later, after he used both threats and persuasion, she accepted.

He was sure he would win the beauty’s heart.

But when he returned home after completing official business, the house was empty and she was gone.

It turned out that all her tenderness and affection had been nothing but a pretense.

*

Zhu Wuzhi was born cold-hearted. He considered love a trivial worldly attachment and devoted himself to pursuing power and profit.

He prided himself on planning for every eventuality and keeping everything under his thumb.

But in time, he came to understand that while anything else in the world could be obtained, love was the hardest thing to find.

Reader’s guide:

1. Both leads are sexually inexperienced / one-on-one / happy ending / fictional setting, so please don’t nitpick the history.

2. Coercive romance, coercive romance, coercive romance. Important things bear repeating. Lots of old-school melodrama; don’t read if that’s not your thing.

3. The male lead is chaste in both body and mind. Chaste in both body and mind. Chaste in both body and mind.

4. The male lead is not a good person by conventional standards. He’s a mad dog. The female lead is kind, gullible, and weak in the early chapters.

5. No need to tell me if you drop the novel.

Blurb posted on November 18, 2024, and archived.

Theme: Love yourself before you love another.