Spring Beyond the Tribulation

[Seeking Bookmarks for the Upcoming Novel "The Third Year of Leaving the Plot"; Blurb Below]

Meng Yu woke up one day transmigrated into the body of a little mute girl.

Her father favored others, and her mother was weak and timid.

Her older legitimate sister was honey-tongued but venomous, while her younger legitimate sister hid daggers behind her smiles.

Surrounded by wolves, she cautiously managed to survive until she was old enough to marry.

Her mother had intended to marry her off to a kind and generous man.

Who could have guessed that one careless mistake would see her father give her to

that infamous young marquis?

The young marquis of the capital, a man notorious for his extravagance and debauchery, has returned home with military honors.

He has specifically demanded to marry a Miss from the Meng family.

But the Meng family has three daughters.

One is famous throughout the capital, a proper young lady skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting;

one is clever and lively, a mischievous little sprite doted on by her parents;

and then there is... a timid, dull-witted little mute.

Which one does he want to marry?

Lord Meng, a secretary in the Secretariat, doesn't dare ask.

He's afraid the young marquis wants to marry his dignified, refined daughter.

Lord Meng cautiously sounded him out:

"The Third Miss is kind by nature. Perhaps you might take her as your bride?"

He had thought the young marquis would fly into a rage.

Who could have imagined that the peerlessly elegant man would lean back in his armchair,

give a lazy chuckle, and say, "All right!"

The first time Lu Xiuyi saw the little mute from the Meng family,

she was curled up, drenched, on a tattered straw mat.

Her skin was as smooth as jade, her figure graceful.

Her eyes brimmed with tears, her face as delicate as a rain-soaked pear blossom.

Like a trumpet vine, fragile and easy to pluck,

she stirred his heart and soul.

Only later did he realize:

what kind of trumpet vine was she?

She was clearly a thorny rose.

[SC, mild forced marriage]

[Blurb written on February 19, 2025; revised on April 27, 2025]

[Screenshot saved]

Blurb for "The Third Year of Leaving the Plot"

[The heroine transmigrates into a book, landing in a story about forced possession]

Year 33 of Yuanqi, early summer.

The Crown Prince Xu Hechen is ordered to tour Songluo. Cicadas shrill noisily, and the wind carries scorching heat.

A beggar lies at a street corner. The shadows retreat, and the blazing sun beats down on him.

Beneath the corridor eaves of a raised pavilion, the Crown Prince spots a woman in a cloth skirt and a thorn hairpin walking by with an umbrella.

As she passes the beggar, she suddenly turns back, tilts her paper umbrella, and sets it beside him along with a wine jug.

The Crown Prince is slightly surprised, his brows shifting.

The county official standing by immediately understands and ingratiatingly introduces her:

"This is Madam Shen. She's a wonderful cook and runs a tavern on the street corner."

The Crown Prince tilts his head. "Madam Shen?"

"Her full name is Shen Yi."

A distant, hazy memory surges up.

The heavily made-up face vaguely overlaps with the woman's fresh, refined features today.

Xu Hechen watches her retreating figure, his brows lowering slightly.

He vaguely remembers her saying:

She couldn't cook.

She hated beggars.

Theme: Spring blooms from withered wood beyond the reach of calamity; its fragrance fills the world, heard throughout all ages.