The Eastern Palace Has No Sword

[Genius Swordfighter Girl x Paranoid Shadow Guard Who Thinks He's a Replacement]

(The heroine has eyes only for the sword, naive and ignorant of worldly ways. The hero seems insecure and shy, like a nurturing mother, but is actually a gloomy, obsessive male ghost.)

On the eve of the Crown Prince's wedding, a sword-bearing young woman arrived at the Eastern Palace.

She never let her sword leave her side, sat at the same table as the Crown Prince, and even called him by his childhood nickname. Everyone was astonished.

*

The Crown Prince had always thought Gu Shanyue liked him. After all, she treated him so well and was so tolerant of him.

Apart from her sword, he was the only thing in her eyes.

She was the most useful blade, but in the royal family, there was no such thing as being together for a lifetime with only one person.

As long as he kept her by his side, he could always tame her.

Until one day, the Crown Prince heard her say to a lowly shadow guard with his own ears, "I like seeing you smile."

During the ten years they had depended on each other, she had said those words to him, too.

The Crown Prince sneered, pressing the tip of his tongue against his canine tooth until it hurt.

The shadow guard was smiling, too, with the tips of two canines showing at the corners of his lips.

What a shoddy counterfeit!

The Crown Prince sent Gu Shanyue away, then grabbed the shadow guard, intent on knocking out those eyesore teeth.

When Gu Shanyue hurried back, the young shadow guard's face was covered in blood, yet he still struggled to raise his head and smile at her.

She drew her sword. The Crown Prince was furious. "You'd kill me for him?"

Gu Shanyue cut through the chains and left with the young shadow guard. "This is the last time."

Things seemed to have slipped out of control. The Crown Prince lost his composure and chased after her.

She paid him no heed. The young shadow guard she protected, however, looked back, the corner of his blood-soaked mouth slowly curling into a smile.

*

The young shadow guard was very insecure, always asking again and again, "Who's better, the Crown Prince or me?"

Gu Shanyue smiled, held the back of his neck, slick with hot sweat, and leaned close to his ear. "He's more delicate than you. I don't like that."

The young shadow guard was delighted, yet secretly envied the familiar tone she used when she talked about the Crown Prince.

So he could only bury himself in his work even more, sweating profusely.

He wasn't delicate. He was the most capable one of all.

"What should you do when your lover always thinks he's a replacement? Gu Shanyue says the experience isn't bad..."

Note: HE, the male lead is a virgin, an alternate-world romance, and the male lead still has his teeth...

🟢 Please add my next historical romance, Twin Blossoms, to your reading list~ I'll cuck myself ♻️

Yin Jianhe, master of the Sword-Forging Manor, was born with two souls in one body.

One morning, Yin Jianhe awoke feeling strange. He lifted the covers and saw that he was lying naked beside a woman, their limbs entwined.

He knew this woman. She was Ying Chao's beloved, Xun Huan.

Ying Chao was the other soul who shared his body. He had once told Yin Jianhe that he wanted to marry Xun Huan, but Yin Jianhe had refused.

He never expected that this pair of illicit lovers would force him into marriage this way.

With no other choice, Yin Jianhe agreed to the marriage.

The three of them agreed on three rules: the one marrying Xun Huan was Ying Chao, and it had nothing to do with him.

When Yin Jianhe was awake, Xun Huan could not treat him as her husband, touch him, or make any improper advances. She even had to address him respectfully as Manor Master.

Even so, Yin Jianhe could notice the newlyweds' sweetness in all the little details of their daily life.

He could also sense Xun Huan's habitual intimacy toward him, and her somewhat clumsy attempts to please him.

Yin Jianhe made things clear and drew a line between them.

"Ying Chao and I are not the same person. I ask that you conduct yourself with propriety, Madam."

At last, life was peaceful.

But before long, things took a turn for the worse.

Yin Jianhe discovered that his memories and Ying Chao's were gradually becoming one.

Night after night, he was lost in dreams, and every single one was filled with Xun Huan.

Her sweat-damp hair at her temples, her flushed face, her soft, moist body pressing against him, as she clung passionately to Ying Chao.

Or rather, to him.

*

Xun Huan learned to accept that Ying Chao was the husband she knew for only a small part of the time.

She also learned to keep her distance from Yin Jianhe, whose temperament was different despite having the same face.

But for some reason, lately Yin Jianhe's gaze kept landing on her, so direct that she could not ignore it. It was even more scorching and clinging than Ying Chao's.

One day, Xun Huan was nestled in Ying Chao's arms, playfully teasing him, when she suddenly realized that her husband's body had changed owners.

She hastily apologized and tried to draw back the hand hooked around his neck, but he abruptly caught her wrist.

Xun Huan gasped. "Manor Master..."

Yin Jianhe steadied her by the waist and gripped her wrist. He lowered his head expressionlessly and said coolly,

"Why do you call him husband, but call me Manor Master?"

Xun Huan had no idea what was wrong with him. Flustered, she struggled, trying to pull her imprisoned hand free.

"Let me go..."

Yin Jianhe's face was stern. The lips that usually spoke only cold words suddenly bit down on the fingertip she was using to push him away, murmuring softly,

"Is this hand the only one that refuses to touch me?"

Xun Huan was utterly bewildered. Yin Jianhe bit her fingertip until it was damp and red, then looked up at her.

"He and I are both your husbands. Why do you treat one of us so much better than the other, Madam?"

They even shared a body. Shouldn't their wife treat them the same way?

Theme: A three-foot sword in a world of dust and turmoil. Who is to blame for misleading me?