After She Faked Her Death, the Heir Regretted It

[Ex-wife-chasing crematorium + love after marriage + taking by force], 70% piracy protection

The main story is complete, with occasional extras coming soon! “Marrying My Childhood Friend’s Uncle” is now underway. Please add it to your collection!

Chu Zhaozhao is the illegitimate daughter of the Vice Minister of Revenue. Because of her beauty, she was raised from childhood to be a tool for currying favor with the powerful.

She has a secret she cannot tell anyone: she is in love with Xie Lan, heir to the Marquis of Qingping.

Xie Lan comes from a distinguished family, has an exalted status, and is already engaged.

Chu Zhaozhao knows that they are worlds apart, so she has never dared entertain any wild hopes.

But on the day of the Bathing Buddha Festival, someone tricks her into opening Xie Lan’s door. With all eyes on them, their reputations are ruined, and she ends up marrying him.

Because of her feelings for him and her guilt over what happened at the Bathing Buddha Festival, Chu Zhaozhao is entirely accommodating toward Xie Lan.

Even when he is often cold to her and lets others humiliate her in every way, she swallows it all and takes devoted care of him.

She believes that constant drops wear away stone, and small steps add up to a thousand miles. Surely one day she will warm his heart.

But no matter how much she does, Xie Lan never changes his prejudice against her.

At the Grand Madam’s birthday banquet, someone brings him a cup of spiked wine. Xie Lan assumes she did it. He refuses to hear her explanation, takes what he wants from her all night, then has a maid bring her a bowl of medicine to prevent pregnancy.

Later, when she and someone else are both in danger, Xie Lan does not hesitate to abandon her.

That day, blood reddened her vision and extinguished her burning heart.

She had repaid what she owed him in full over the course of that year. Looking at the surging waters of the Cang River, Chu Zhaozhao leapt in without hesitation, erasing every trace of herself from this world.

From then on, she would never love him again.

*

Xie Lan despises Chu Zhaozhao’s scheming, her feigned magnanimity, and even more, her ingratiating attempts to please him.

He once thought that nothing she did could ever make him develop feelings for her.

But when he heard that Chu Zhaozhao had died, a crack appeared for the first time in his long-hardened heart.

From then on, he was haunted by nightmares every night and fell ill with grief. Her figure was always on his mind.

When the truth gradually came to light, Xie Lan finally realized how terribly he had been mistaken.

Only then did he truly understand what it meant to regret something too late.

He thought he would spend the rest of his life in endless remorse.

But three years later, while away on official business, he caught sight of the supposedly long-dead Chu Zhaozhao in a crowd.

A gentle, handsome man stood beside her.

He called her name in a trembling voice. Her reply was cold and distant. “Sir, you have mistaken me for someone else.”

Reading guide:

1. Both leads have only ever been with each other. Happy ending. A proud, sharp-tongued heir vs. a gentle, beautiful illegitimate daughter.

2. Slow burn, with character growth. Not a conventional emotion-driven romance; the plot takes up a significant portion. The male lead is truly awful at first, and gets a full ten-alarm crematorium of regret later.

3. The blurb contains information gaps and misunderstandings. Everything has its causes and consequences.

4. Loosely inspired setting with some original worldbuilding. Please don’t nitpick historical accuracy.

Blurb for “Marrying My Childhood Friend’s Uncle”:

Love after marriage | Nine-year age gap | An old flame rekindled

A ditzy, slow-witted, spoiled sweetheart vs. a cold, scheming (and presumptuous) Commander

Zhu Wanning is granted a marriage by imperial decree. Her groom is not her childhood friend, but her childhood friend’s uncle.

Gu Zhi, Commander of the Surveillance Office, is ruthless and cold toward others. Everyone in the capital keeps their distance from him.

Nobody thinks the marriage will work out. They believe Wanning, with her ditzy, slow-witted nature, is sure to suffer terribly once she marries him.

Wanning: “???” Not at all! Uncle treats me wonderfully.

When she buys something on a whim and no longer likes it, Uncle takes it off her hands.

When she worries that a new snack might taste bad, Uncle tries it first.

When she can’t finish her late-night snack, Uncle takes care of it.

When she’s afraid of thunder and can’t sleep, Uncle comforts her until she falls asleep.

With such a wonderful husband, Wanning couldn’t be happier.

The only thing that could be better is that Uncle is always trying to keep her in line.

*

Gu Zhi has always believed that Zhu Wanning is in love with him.

While he was still trying to find a way to call off the marriage, he heard her say to someone with his own ears, “I like Gu Zhi. I love Gu Zhi. I want to marry Gu Zhi.”

On their wedding night, she eagerly held out a little booklet and said they should consummate the marriage. Unable to cross his own moral line, he coldly told her they would be a fake couple and divorce after a year. She cried all night.

After they married, she became even more brazen. She not only catered to his tastes to win him over, but also kept finding excuses to throw herself into his arms, often trying to seduce him until he could hardly stand it.

Whenever he lost his patience and said something harsh to her, she would look at him with red-rimmed eyes, seemingly aggrieved, and ask softly, “Could you please stop being so mean to me?”

Eventually, Gu Zhi finally convinced himself to be the villain and decided to spend the rest of his life with her.

But then Wanning gathered portraits of all the eligible young men in the capital and laid them before him. Looking at him with shining eyes, she said, “Didn’t you say before that you wanted a divorce? The one-year deadline is almost here, so I need to find a new husband. Would you help me choose?”

Gu Zhi: “???”

A little scene:

Wanning picks up a portrait of the Grand Tutor Li’s third son. Gu Zhi glances at it and calmly looks away. “I hear he drinks too much. When he gets drunk, he tends to hit people.”

She points to the young master of the Chen family.

Gu Zhi: “He never bathes.”

“What about the grandson of the Northern Garrison General?”

Gu Zhi: “His grandfather is plotting a rebellion. His whole clan will be executed.”

Wanning trembles with fear, then finally places her hand on the portrait of her childhood friend, Gu Qi.

Gu Zhi gives a cold laugh. “He’s impotent.”

Wanning: “...”

Gu Zhi: “Since you haven’t found anyone suitable, why don’t we just stay married?”

Theme: Climb high and your vision will widen; the longer the road, the more open your heart. Break free of the cage and see the world’s countless blossoms.