The Black-Hearted Lotus Is Always Pretending to Be Good

Urgent! I adopted a child who calls me "Big Sister" to my face, but secretly wants to make me his wife. What should I do?

Upcoming novel in my column: A Life of Respectability Is a Bandit's Best Dowry. Blurb at the very bottom.

Blurb:

[Quick-Witted, Playful Commandery Princess x Proud, Love-Brained Young Marquis]

In turbulent times, Lin Yanqiu, the deposed crown prince's youngest daughter, has no choice but to impersonate the Yong'an Commandery Princess, change her name to Xiao Yuyan, and lie low in the palace.

She never expected the imperial palace to be a sea of intrigue and hidden currents. Before she could figure out which way was up, she fell into a trap and was attacked.

When she woke, the first thing she saw was the face she least wanted to see right now.

Her sworn enemy, the one who was at daggers drawn with the "Yong'an Commandery Princess" and always picked a fight whenever they met, was looking down at her with a stern expression.

Alarm bells rang in her head. She instinctively shut her eyes, a wail of despair filling her mind.

Why did it have to be him?

Could she still pretend to be unconscious?

After a brief struggle, she resigned herself to her fate, opened her eyes, and tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Fancy meeting you here..."

*

Pei Ziyu, heir to the Marquis of Dingyuan, was handsome and elegant, always composed and polite with others, except when it came to...

The Yong'an Commandery Princess.

He had never liked her arrogant, overbearing ways. In the past, maintaining the barest surface-level courtesy when they met had been the limit of his patience.

But lately, she had been strangely intent on avoiding him.

All the better. He was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.

But... Ever since they happened to meet that day, it was as if she'd become a different person. Now she always greeted him with a smile.

Pei Ziyu sneered inwardly, convinced she was plotting some new scheme, one as clumsy as it was irritating.

Then, later on...

She began making overtures again and again, inviting him on outings and spring excursions, giving him birthday gifts... and even sending him pastries she'd made herself.

Pei Ziyu casually picked up one of the unusually shaped pastries, his gaze turning thoughtful.

Going to all this trouble to get close to him, could it be...

That she had fallen for him?

He frowned, then took a bite as if doing her a favor.

Tsk, sickeningly sweet.

She wasn't much of a cook, but at least she had good taste in men.

[Bonus Scene]

After the imperial decree arranging his marriage to Xiao Yuyan was issued, Pei Ziyu's cousin asked him what he planned to do.

Pei Ziyu said that on the wedding day, he would put on his wedding robes and see what sort of trick his betrothed had in mind.

[Reader's Guide]

1. The heroine's growth arc runs throughout the novel, with the struggle for the throne as the main plot.

2. The heroine does not disguise herself as a man. The twin brother she takes the place of had been presented as a commandery princess since childhood. He and the male lead have a minor disagreement, but it won't affect the leads' relationship.

1v1, both leads are sexually inexperienced.

3. Please note: as children, the leads are childhood friends. They only fall in love as adults.

4. This is an alternate-history setting, and the details serve the plot. Please don't nitpick the historical accuracy.

My next novel will be a sweet historical romance of the same type, A Life of Respectability Is a Bandit's Best Dowry. Please add it to your collection~

[Blunt, Slow-Witted Female Official x Younger, Cunning, Devoted Hound]

That winter, the snow reached her knees. As usual, Chu Yu went to the market to buy supplies, but there she saw something out of the ordinary.

A wounded boy lay helplessly on the ground, bound in chains. He looked as if he could stop breathing at any moment.

She frowned and spent all her silver to buy the filthy boy from a trafficker.

The boy was like a young beast newly arrived in the human world, wary of everything around him.

When she tried to bandage his wounds, he grabbed her. When she tried to feed him, he bit her.

Chu Yu patiently soothed him, gave him warm clothes and food, and told him he could stay without fear.

By the time all the bleeding wounds on his body had scabbed over, he was docile, lying at her feet and calling her "Big Sister" with shining black eyes.

They were like two lonely birds huddling together for warmth, building a small but cozy home.

Three years later, the peach blossoms were in full bloom, and the boy was gone.

All he left behind was the celadon bowl Chu Yu had specially prepared for him, clean and untouched, as if no one had ever been there.

Years later, Chu Yu, now a government official, was ambushed while investigating a case at night. She was outnumbered.

At the brink of life and death, a shadow darted before her like a shooting star, driving back the assassins in an instant.

Her heart wouldn't stop pounding. Before the masked figure left, he gave her a long look. His eyes were black and bright, stirring something deep inside her.

Before she could thank him, he had vanished.

Later, Chu Yu received an imperial order to suppress bandits, but instead fell into a trap and was carried off to their stronghold.

The bandit chief sauntered out of the shadows, playing with her official seal. He brushed a finger teasingly over her lips. "Would you stay here and be my bandit bride, Your Excellency?"

Chu Yu flew into a rage and drew her sword, but he subdued her with a twist of his arm and pinned her to the bed.

His rough palm pressed against her skin, his scorching breath burning the side of her neck as he murmured seductively, "Would Your Excellency grant me that wish?"

As she struggled, Chu Yu's gaze passed over the scar behind his ear, and she froze for a moment.

*

Jiang Xun had been surrounded by slaughter since childhood, surviving by stepping over other people's corpses.

Until he lost.

A young woman took him in, battered and bruised. She gave him warm clothes, food, and a home.

For the first time in his life, someone treated him like a person and showed him respect.

But when his former master arrived, he had no choice but to shatter that dream with his own hands and leave without a word.

He had no choice but to go.

Fortunately, fate was kind to him. He met that young woman again and held her captive in his arms.

He gazed passionately at the woman who haunted his dreams, his eyes nearly crazed, and wiped the blood from her face with a finger.

"Would Your Excellency be my bandit bride?"

He thought she would hit him or curse him. He never expected her to say...

"So it was you, you little brat!"

She actually remembered him.

Wild joy spread through his whole body. He knew how softhearted she was.

So he reined in his earlier arrogance, knelt before her, and carefully took her hand. He rested his forehead against her wrist, his voice low and plaintive, as if afraid she'd abandon him again.

"You were the one who bought me back then," he murmured reproachfully, the corners of his eyes turning red. "You can't... abandon me again."

Chu Yu looked at him, both exasperated and amused, and poked him in the forehead. "I taught you to read and be reasonable, not to become a bandit and harass me!"

He gripped her wrist, lowering his eyes as a trace of satisfaction flickered through them. "Then keep me by your side and teach me some more, Your Excellency."

[Reader's Guide]

1. Younger male lead, both leads are sexually inexperienced, happy ending.

2. Alternate setting where both women and men can serve in government.

Theme: Make a difference for the people