Stealing the Bride

Character dynamics: A clever, foxlike beauty from an illustrious family VS a cold, domineering, ambitious prince and powerful court official (SC)

Highlights: Marriage first, love later / a sweet romance full of push and pull / schemes and interests intertwined with love and hate

Blurb

Everyone knows that the sixth young lady of the Pei family, Pei Ying, comes from a distinguished family and is exceptionally beautiful, and that she is betrothed to the well-matched Xie clan, a prestigious family.

But no one cares that Pei Ying is determined to break off the engagement.

Just as she is about to marry into the Xie family, Prince Shenghui Xiao Ke, whose power holds sway over the court, openly and forcefully demands to marry her as his princess consort.

Pei Ying has no choice but to marry him.

Xiao Ke promises to treat her as an equal and to be her true husband.

But Pei Ying feels that this is far from enough. She wants more.

After their marriage, Xiao Ke believes himself to be detached from worldly desires, wanting only to live in mutual respect with his wife.

Yet when she insists on being gentle and virtuous at the wrong moments, she often angers him so much that he turns and walks away.

But when she cannot be bothered to feign obedience and deference, and instead lets her spoiled, willful, girlish nature show, her bewitching ways give him a headache.

Xiao Ke is jealous and possessive, and his desire to claim her grows wild. How could he let anyone else covet his wife?

The once dispassionate Prince Shenghui is no more. He longs to punish her, to devour her whole, so she belongs to him alone.

His wife shines like a pearl, alluring and captivating. Before he even realizes it,

Xiao Ke has fallen for her, sinking into the palm of her tender hand,

and she, too, gradually takes root in Pei Ying’s heart, awakening feelings of love and affection.

But their schemes and true feelings are out of step. A series of misunderstandings and barriers come between them, bringing love and hate in waves.

Xiao Ke resents her for being as sly as a fox, seemingly without a heart, yet he can never bring himself to let her go...

Notes:

1. The setting is a fictional dynasty, with plenty of original worldbuilding. This is a marriage-first, love-later story, with a complete romance between the leads. The novel is complete, so dive in with confidence.

2. If you enjoy this story, feel free to read the sequel, A Long Song from the Imperial Palace, Together with You.

Theme: Marriage may be an exchange of interests, but we must claim our own happiness.