The Guest of the Forbidden Palace

Completed. Pirated versions are incomplete. Please refer to the official edition. -Next book: Has the Eminent Monk Finally Given in to Worldly Desires Today? If you're interested, please add it to your collection. It opens on July 29. Thank you! In the early spring of the twenty-third year of Ping, the Deng family of Xuanzhou was accused of treason and wiped out on the night of their eldest daughter's wedding. Deng Yining, who had returned to the palace to marry by imperial decree, narrowly escaped death. Everyone laughed at her, saying she had turned down the title of great general of Xirong only to attach herself to the capital's most notorious playboy, the Third Prince. Everyone waited to see her make a fool of herself. The marriage contract Li Zhaolan had obtained for her became her shackles. He did everything he could to pave her way, willingly becoming a stepping stone for her, and completely forgot that he was caught in the same game. Deng Yining swore to clear her father's name, but watched one innocent life after another fall before her eyes. Li Zhaolan said calmly, "Some people don't need a reason to kill." Later, using Li Zhaolan's status, Deng Yining gradually saw the ugly faces hidden beneath the court officials' masks. She focused wholeheartedly on revenge, while the man only wanted to confess his feelings. Rejected again and again, he kept trying to win her over, willingly letting her use him. With her revenge nearly complete, Deng Yining knew she could not escape death. She asked him, "Will Your Highness hate me?" Li Zhaolan knew he couldn't keep her. The last warmth in his hand gradually faded. Standing where she had last been, he had never been more certain. "I won't hate you. Not in this life." * Wang Shizhen [Ming Dynasty], Ten Elegies for the Funeral of Lord Liu Wen'an, number ten: "Now behold the guest of the Forbidden City, arriving at the palace of the Sage King." [Reader tips] One-on-one romance / both leads have no prior sexual experience / happy ending 1. A story of growth, with a plot-driven focus. 2. An alternate history with extensive original worldbuilding. It isn't intended to be historically accurate. [Blurb for Has the Eminent Monk Finally Given in to Worldly Desires Today?] Shen Junguang was sent to a Buddhist temple. She never imagined that her future husband would turn up in one. Looking at Chengye's broad shoulders and narrow waist, she found him far more appealing than those highborn young gentlemen. As they spent more and more time together, Shen Junguang gradually realized she liked Chengye. Assuming he felt the same, she worked up the courage to confess on the night she came of age. "I like you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." But Chengye's expression remained blank as a cold sentence left his warm lips. "Guang, don't concern yourself with me." -- Chengye had never imagined that a highborn young lady could be as shamelessly persistent as Shen Junguang. After rejecting her, he thought she would give up. Instead, egged on by her friends, Shen Junguang refused to let her crush die and actually managed to break through his defenses. Chengye began to grow used to Shen Junguang's presence. He watched her circle around him and didn't care, even knowing that she was already engaged. They treated the sick and saved lives together, and shared a quiet, ordinary life. Then Chengye suddenly vanished. Completely disappointed, Shen Junguang decided to marry her fiance. The usually reserved and composed man actually raced through the streets on horseback and climbed into her bedroom on the eve of her wedding, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at her. "Guang, do you still care about me?" Later, Chengye asked her what she thought of the fact that he only saw her as a younger sister. Shen Junguang rested against his chest and narrowed her eyes. Just before blocking his lips with a kiss, she said something Chengye would never forget. "A beloved little sister is still a little sister." *A timid but bold, lovestruck little bee x a cold-faced cutie who's all bark and no bite Theme: Peace and stability for the nation and its people