Doting on the Little Pearl

◆ Foster care | Everyday kisses and cuddles | Size difference | Difference in status

◆ Soft, sweet little darling & handsome, mature Emperor Daddy

As a princess, Sui Sui should have been doted on by everyone, but she grew up away from the palace, becoming solitary and rough around the edges. After she was brought back to the palace, she refused to obey and ran away. Emperor Mingwu found her during her escape and took her in.

Emperor Mingwu was imperious and awe-inspiring, the strictest and wisest father of the Great Xia.

Yet he showed her extraordinary affection and indulgence. From beautiful clothes, exquisite jewelry, and a splendid palace to her studies and every little thing in between, he personally taught and raised her.

With his approval and indulgence, she grew ever closer to him and more dependent on him, until she could no longer bear to be apart from him.

But he was not only the father of Great Xia. He was also her uncle in name.

Sui Sui had never wanted to call him Imperial Uncle. The first thing she called him was "Your Majesty," and it was the only thing she ever called him.

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, he was Sui Sui's Your Majesty.

She began to want him all to herself, and that desire grew more intense by the day. She wanted hugs and kisses, to cling to him like an octopus, and to kiss him on the mouth.

Then one day, Emperor Mingwu told her, "Sui Sui, I am going to make you a princess, my one and only princess."

He smiled, his words brimming with domineering affection.

But Sui Sui didn't want to be a princess, so she ran away. Before she left, she mischievously laid out the things she felt she ought to keep hidden from him right on his imperial desk. While he was asleep, she sneaked a kiss on his lips, then slipped away.

She had not been back to Mount Lutai for long when he caught up with her. His tall, imposing body covered hers, desire roiling in his deep, dark eyes. He caught her lips and said hoarsely, "Is that how you kiss?"

"Watch carefully. I'll teach you."

Between gasping breaths, Sui Sui smiled triumphantly, showing her little pointed canine teeth. She had guessed right.

*

Emperor Mingwu had long known what Sui Sui was thinking, but he was much older than she was, so he ought to be patient and exercise restraint.

That day, before she ran away, she had stolen a kiss from his lips, clumsy and hasty.

He thought that, as her elder, he ought to teach her properly.

If once wasn't enough, then twice, three times...

★ In Emperor Mingwu's eyes, Sui Sui was beautiful, adorable, well-behaved, and clingy, the most perfect girl in all of Yujing and the whole world. She was the apple of his eye.

★ I taught her and raised her, so she ought to be mine.

Reading notes: 1. Both leads are each other's first and only partners, with a happy ending. The heroine is already of age when the story begins. The hero is chaste in both body and heart, has no harem, and is impeccable in his treatment of women.

The heroine was born with superhuman strength. Around other people, she is a cold-faced little terror, but in front of the hero she is a soft, sweet darling, very delicate and spoiled. Please don't read if that bothers you.

2. The leads are not related by blood. The hero is not the Empress Dowager's son. The princess's birth mother is the Empress Dowager's niece and was never entered in the imperial genealogy.

3. Set in a fictional world, with many invented details. The political scheming is kindergarten-level, so please don't scrutinize it.

[A tearful, gentle, soft girl & an irritable man who has to patiently coax his wife] [Marriage Before Love]

In the fifth year of Mingcheng, the Great Zhou dynasty, which had enjoyed over two hundred years of prosperity, began its decline. The ruler was incompetent, the people struggled to make ends meet, and foreign tribes launched repeated invasions.

At a moment of grave danger, He Muzhou, eldest son of the military He family stationed in the northwest, turned the tide and defeated the enemy forces.

But he was arrogant and headstrong, with great power in his hands. He was a tough man who yielded to neither threats nor enticements.

Fearing He Muzhou might seize the throne, the emperor tried to appease him by making him the only prince of a different surname in Great Zhou. He gave him a great deal of gold and jewels, and even arranged for the noble and precious princess to marry him.

*

Ruan You was a princess of Great Zhou, but her birth mother was merely a low-ranking consort and had little favor. Born prematurely, she was often sick and always curled up in her little courtyard, so she was practically invisible in the imperial harem.

She had planned to ask the Empress for a favor after coming of age, and marry the son of a minor official from a small, respectable family. But everything changed, and her imperial brother ordered her to marry the Northwest Prince, who was rumored to be a brutal, bloodthirsty monster.

She was frightened and uneasy, often crying into her pillow at night, but with her low status, she had no choice but to marry him.

After the wedding, she was extremely cautious, not daring to go near the Northwest Prince. She often hid in a little corner of the prince's estate.

They lived peacefully enough, and she gradually grew bolder, often sneaking out to play with her maid.

After spending so long in the depths of the palace, she was captivated by the bustling world beyond it.

Then one day, she finally met the Northwest Prince, her husband in name.

The man was tall and powerfully built, with an intimidating air like a fierce wolf king at night. His dark eyes swept over her, and she shivered, eyes brimming with tears, as she softly called, "Your Highness..."

*

He Muzhou was wild and arrogant by nature, and hated the incompetent, wasteful nobles of the imperial capital more than anything.

The emperor had arranged for the princess to marry him in an attempt to appease him, but He Muzhou had not even attended the wedding. He clearly had no regard for the princess.

Unexpectedly, one day he encountered a beautiful woman. Acting on impulse, he approached her, only to find her trembling and on the verge of tears as she called, "Your Highness..."

[Scene One] Before meeting Ruan You, He Muzhou never knew anyone could cry so much. She was like a person made of water.

Speak a little too loudly, and she cries. Touch her, and she cries. Kiss her, and she cries too.

Facing the young woman's tearful eyes, he irritably scratched his head and couldn't help swearing under his breath.

Ruan You: "Waaah!"

He Muzhou: "..."

[Scene Two] To He Muzhou, his little princess consort was perfect in every way, except that she was a little too frail. So he watched her meals every day, determined to fatten her up a bit.

But the little thing ate so slowly, dawdling over every bite. He couldn't stand it any longer. He snatched the bowl from her hands to feed her, and growled, "I'm in a hurry!"

The girl obediently ate, but then He Muzhou still wasn't satisfied. He stretched out an arm, pulled her onto his lap, and said with righteous conviction, "It's too far away like that. My arm gets tired."

Note: 1. A sweet one-on-one story about raising a young heroine, both pure, with a ten-year age gap.

2. The heroine is timid and cries easily, a bona fide crybaby who tears up at the drop of a hat. Read with caution!

Theme: Love one another and build a beautiful home together.