I Don't Want a Parasitic Vine

[A spy full of holes vs. a crown prince who pretends to be blind for love] The author's other upcoming novels, The Fox as a Gentleman and Burning the Boat, are also available for preorder. Please add them to your reading list!

In the seventh year that the deposed crown prince Meng Wen was confined to the cold palace, Zhu Ying shared a bond with him forged when she had once helped him in his hour of need. All she had to do was wait for the former empress to be cleared of the false charges, for him to be restored as crown prince, and for him to take up residence in the Eastern Palace.

She thought her hard times were over and she'd found someone to rely on. But when the crown prince investigated his birth mother's death, she was made the palace servant who took the blame. She hadn't even had time to ask him to repay her kindness before it was canceled out far too quickly.

When this scapegoat saw the crown prince again, she glared at him. "If I say I didn't do it, will Your Highness believe me?"

He said, "I believe you."

Just like that, Zhu Ying moved into the Eastern Palace and became a spy planted beside the crown prince by Prince Qi. She was a terrible spy, though, full of holes, and only got away with it because the crown prince turned a blind eye.

Meng Wen was truly at a loss. What could he do? She was beautiful, and just clever enough. She clung to the Eastern Palace like a parasitic vine, secretly destroying account books and stealing the emperor's seal. She never missed a single misdeed.

Time and again, he let her off and urged her to turn over a new leaf. "You just want someone to rely on, don't you? Choose for yourself: the Eastern Palace or Prince Qi's residence."

Zhu Ying chose the Eastern Palace. She and Meng Wen were suspicious of each other, and she tripped him up more than once. But they also risked their lives for each other and stood together through his darkest days. At last, after the Ningshuo Palace coup, he finally ascended the throne. Deeply moved, the crown prince took a spy's hand and promised to make her empress.

Zhu Ying was too scared to move.

She thought it was all settled, but someone came forward to expose her true nature. They said she was two-faced and had once revealed every secret plan the crown prince had painstakingly put together. They also said she was ruthless and had nearly gotten His Highness killed in the Eastern Palace.

Zhu Ying waited for the white silk meant to hang her, the poisoned wine, or the dagger.

He merely smiled and brushed it off. "Excellent. I don't want a parasitic vine for an empress."

Reader's note:

* All male leads are virgins: the first, second, and third male leads alike.

The Fox as a Gentleman: Blurb

[A money-grubbing strategist vs. a blind, aloof beauty]

Shang Yan transmigrated into the pre-Qin era and found herself among a people who believed in spirits and gods. By cheating, bluffing, and pretending to perform miracles, she claimed to be an immortal from the future and lived like a fish in water.

But on the day of Qi's sacrificial rites, a meteor fell from the sky and smashed the altar...

In a single night, Lady Gui, the goddess who could communicate with the heavens, became a demoness who brought ruin to her country and the target of everyone's anger. The priests of Qi believed that offering Lady Gui as a sacrifice to the earth god by the Qing River was the only way to quell the disaster.

It turned out being an immortal wasn't as easy as she'd thought. Terrified, Shang Yan grabbed her gold nugget and fled in the middle of the night, only to be caught by a blind man. "The goddess is in danger. Aren't you going to save her, little immortal?"

Shang Yan hurriedly made an excuse. "Even immortals have their limits."

The blind man threatened her. "If you don't save her, I'll kill you."

The "immortal" was forced into action. She and the blind man hurried to a banquet at the Qi palace, where she talked the ruler of Qi into saving Lady Gui and, in the process, saved her own skin.

Even after the deed was done, the blind man refused to let the fraud go, trying to make the immortal serve him.

At first she tried to run away. Then she unexpectedly learned that he was Prince Sui, driven out of his own country by the ruler of Tan. She switched to coveting his wealth instead. She thought the blind man would be easy to fool, but it turned out he was a cunning fox who wanted her body.

Prince Sui laughed softly. "An immortal from the future? You're more like a fox who became an immortal."

Theme: Pursue what your heart desires, and cross a solitary mountain of ten thousand peaks.