The Beauty Who Bewitches the Emperor

Next novel: The Brocade Robe Unrecognized (princess x powerful minister, rekindled love after a breakup). Blurb at the end.

[Blurb]

A Heng was a beauty presented to the King of Chu.

Everyone said A Heng was in love with the king, that her every thought was consumed by him.

At first, King Mi Yuan of Chu thought so too.

He scoffed, pitying her.

She'd gone to so much trouble just to win his favor.

He never imagined that the person he would later cherish above all others would cry as she plunged a knife into his chest.

Then... run off with another man.

It turned out he was the one to be pitied.

*

Stranded in a foreign land and trapped in another kingdom's palace, A Heng only wanted to make life a little better for herself and the people she cared about.

Mi Yuan, ruler of Chu, was handsome and distinguished, but had a pair of proud, cold eyes.

He looked down on her.

That was fine. She served him carefully and worked hard to please him, all for a different purpose.

Later, when she finally managed to leave the palace of Chu, the man she'd stabbed brought an army to her doorstep.

Mi Yuan dragged her back from her wedding.

And threw her onto the bed.

The ruler who had once stood so high above her lowered his head and pinned her struggling hands to his chest. The wound she'd stabbed was still bleeding.

His once-arrogant, dismissive eyes glistened with tears. His gaze was humble, his smile mad.

"Should I tie your Mr. Shen up next door like last time, so he can hear how much fun you're having with me? What do you say, A Heng?"

"You madman!"

He only kissed her hard.

That's right. From the moment he learned that she'd treated him well only for the sake of another man, he'd gone mad.

Clear-headed, resilient sweetheart x arrogant, unhinged king. Forced possession.

.Set in a fictional Spring and Autumn period. No need to fact-check.

.One-on-one, both virgins, happy ending, sweet romance. Read with confidence.

.Small age gap, two years; huge size difference. They are each other's only love, and the male lead falls first.

.The female lead is sweet, resilient, and endearing.

.The male lead has a serious case of adolescent delusions at first, but later gets treated (by the brutal lessons of love, that is).

---- The Brocade Robe Unrecognized ----

Yao Yuzhi's life was full of hardship.

As a child, she fell and injured her head, becoming a simple-minded girl. After years of wandering, she became Lu Yuexiang's child bride.

Lu Yuexiang was like the bright moon in the sky, cool and radiant.

The little fool called him "Moonlight" with joy in her heart, treating him as her moon and happily spending her life washing his clothes and cooking for him.

Even though he was always cold and taciturn toward her.

After she came of age, she got her wish and became Moonlight's real wife.

He was still just as cold. Even at his most passionate, all he did was cover her mouth each night and whisper "Yaoyao" in her ear.

When she met Lu Yuexiang, she was a little fool who didn't know her name or her past.

Yaoyao was the name he gave her.

She thought he must like her at least a little.

Later, Lu Yuexiang passed the top imperial examination and became an official. To form a marriage alliance with powerful families, he sent men to kill his wife.

As she fell from the cliff, Yuzhi finally understood.

Her Moonlight was cold not only on the outside, but in his heart as well.

*

Four years later, the emperor died without an heir. The cabinet chose an obscure prince from a vassal state to ascend the throne.

The regent ministers, led by Lu Yuexiang, waited outside the capital to escort the young prince and his elder sister, the prince's legitimate sister, into the city.

The wind lifted the gauze on the princess's carriage, revealing a face as smooth as jade, with starry eyes and cherry lips, radiant in every glance.

The handsome young official in his bright red robe turned pale. Forgetting that he stood at the head of the officials, he ran alongside the carriage, calling, "Yaoyao!"

The carriage stopped, and the gauze lifted halfway. A feather fan adorned with kingfisher feathers, a golden hairpin swaying with her steps, dark hair piled like clouds.

"You are behaving improperly."

A woman's voice came from behind the feather fan, as distant and luminous as the moon.

A short scene:

The young emperor gradually secured his throne and began selecting a husband for his elder sister, Princess Yuzhi. Every young man in the capital eagerly put himself forward.

The field was filled with handsome young nobles.

Cabinet minister Lu Yuexiang entered without being summoned.

"I have long admired the princess." The elegant young man blushed, his cool eyes filled with endless longing and desire.

"Lord Lu's ambition to climb the social ladder is truly astonishing. Unfortunately..."

The dazzlingly beautiful woman sat leaning back in the seat of honor, smiling, amusement in her eyes.

"Being my consort is no easy task."

The cabinet and the imperial court were locked in a power struggle. The princess stepped in to mediate, saying she was willing to follow the old rules and choose a husband from among the common people. The consort could not hold office or take part in government.

"What if I am willing?" The hands that should have held an ivory tablet removed the black gauze cap from his head. He knelt before the princess and bowed.

Once, he lost the person he loved. This time, he would never let go.

[Beautiful, dignified princess x seemingly gentle but secretly ruthless minister]

The story opens four years later. The heroine is twenty, the hero twenty-five.

Childhood sweethearts turned enemies, rekindling their love amid mutual revenge (the princess is the only one seeking revenge; the hero has always been deeply in love).

From the heroine's perspective: revenge and putting villains in their place.

From the hero's perspective: a hard-won journey to win back his wife.

One-on-one, both virgins, happy ending.

The consort's status is modeled on the Ming dynasty: low political and household standing, barred from office, required to kneel before the princess and address himself as "your subject," making him akin to a servant.

Message: Give civilization to the passage of time.