Shang Miaoyi, Princess of Lingshan, had a dream.
In the dream, her ideal husband, the Prince of Cheng, would one day take away her position as his wife for the sake of an orphan girl, then imprison her in a desolate palace.
Shang Miaoyi had always been spoiled. She had never faced anything like this, and was so frightened that tears streamed down her face and her legs turned weak. That night, she knocked on the door of her sworn elder brother, the Crown Prince.
Bamboo shadows swayed, and jade ornaments chimed. Crown Prince Wen Yu sat upright at his desk, brush in hand, writing without once looking up at her.
As usual, she nestled into her sworn brother's arms, tugged at his hand in grievance, and called him big brother.
"Brother, I don't want to marry the Prince of Cheng anymore. Can you find me another husband?"
But she hadn't expected that her usually refined brother wouldn't scold her for acting up again. Instead, he lowered his gaze with a smile and asked, "Then what kind of husband would you like this time, little sister?"
Shang Miaoyi, who had already changed her choice of husband three times, didn't notice the darkness in his eyes. She tugged at his sleeve and, biting her jade-white fingertip, said, "Someone just a little inferior to you, brother."
Wen Yu suddenly leaned down and traced his fingers over her smooth, gleaming collarbone, saying nothing.
From that day on, rumors about the Crown Prince and Princess of Lingshan grew more rampant throughout the capital.
They said that the bewitching beauty, with her flawless skin and graceful figure, came out of the Crown Prince's chambers every day with her clothes disheveled and her collar half open.
Only Shang Miaoyi knew:
The rumors were all true.
"Brother, are other brothers and sisters really like this?"
She tried to escape his hold, but her Crown Prince brother, who had always been so proper and protective of her, grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her back into his arms. He wiped the filth from her hand and kneaded her reddened palm.
"This is a lesson in women's arts. You mustn't get distracted."
*
As the emperor's youngest legitimate son, Wen Yu had taken charge of the state while still young, and the ministers all bowed to him. He considered his life complete in every respect, with only one thing weighing on his mind:
His little sister Miaoyi's marriage.
He taught her the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as poetry, books, and etiquette. He even chose her husbands himself.
But later, when he watched the girl fly into someone else's arms like a bright spring kite, smiling coyly at another man behind her hand, Wen Yu wanted nothing more than to lock her away in the Crown Prince's chambers.
She had been orphaned young and raised by him.
So she ought to smile only for him, be coquettish only with him, and be both his one and only little sister and his beloved caged bird.
tips:
1. The leads have a six-year age gap.
2. The male lead is young but has seniority. The second male lead calls him Young Uncle.
3. Pseudo-incest. The leads are not related by blood in any way.
4. An outwardly aloof, actually possessive to the max and slightly unhinged sister-obsessed Crown Prince x a beautiful, clever, naturally seductive and oblivious princess adored by everyone
Theme: Strive, strive, strive
