The Pretend-Innocent Little Green Tea

This novel is complete. Thank you to everyone who supported the official version, mwah~

(The neighboring novel, My Crown Prince Brother Doesn't Want to Be My Brother, is now underway! A sickly, slow-witted, sweet little girl x her childhood sweetheart, the Crown Prince. See my author page.)

Novel blurb:

Age gap / The untouchable beauty cracks / Devoted, pure romance

Gorgeous little green tea drama queen VS cold-blooded, celibate Crown Prince

Jiang Zhuoying was born into the Duke's household. With her delicate oval face and peach-blossom eyes, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Her parents and relatives had doted on her since childhood, leaving her spoiled and innocent.

Then disaster struck her family, and she unexpectedly learned a secret about the current Second Prince!

Rumor had it that he kept away from court and was useless and incompetent.

But Jiang Zhuoying knew the truth: he had been lying low for a long time, a cold-blooded, celibate hidden dragon, waiting for the perfect moment to strike!

What's more, he knew all the court officials' secrets, including the secret of her own ducal household.

To investigate her family's enemies, she had no choice but to disguise herself as a maid and get close to him.

She had heard that aloof, celibate men hated spoiled women and only liked sweet and docile ones.

So she began to act frail, fainting at the slightest excuse and constantly getting teary-eyed.

"This servant feels dizzy. I can hardly stand~"

"It's no one's fault but mine. I was too clumsy and twisted my ankle."

"Since Second Prince Brother doesn't like this servant, I'll leave right away... Oh, my leg hurts..."

She charmed everyone in the household and considered her acting flawless.

But one day:

The man stared at her with a cold expression. "If we were to marry, your status would indeed be a little low, but it's not as if there's no way around it."

The young woman was stunned. "Marry whom?"

After finally uncovering the truth in a secret letter, she made an excuse, faked her death, and returned to her family's estate.

Just as she was busy taking revenge and crushing her enemies, she received an imperial edict from the Emperor arranging her marriage.

On their wedding night, the Second Prince, once thought idle and incompetent, had become the Crown Prince.

The man's face darkened as he pinned her onto the bright red wedding bed. "A-Zhuo, you really do have some tricks."

Jiang Zhuoying's eyes glistened with tears. "...Sniffle, sniffle. You said you loved me back then. Does that not count anymore?"

[Male Lead's POV]

Qi Fan had been cold and distant toward her at first, but in the end, his heart of stone was captured by the beautiful, thoughtful little maid.

Their master-servant relationship gradually changed into something else...

"I have been away from court for a long time. I am no longer worthy of being addressed as Your Highness."

The young woman had a sudden inspiration and spoke softly and cautiously: "Second Prince Brother?"

Just when he thought he had finally found the precious pearl meant for him,

news of her death shattered his heart and left him utterly devastated.

Until he saw a certain someone in a teahouse in the city, laughing merrily with another man...

Reading Guide:

Female lead's POV: Marriage first, love later.

Male lead's POV: "Taking by force."

Ten-year age gap, an old house catches fire.

At first, the female lead teases the male lead until he falls for her. Later, the spoiled female lead becomes completely henpecked.

Note: This is a completely fictional setting. The female lead's transmigration into a lucky carp lasts only a short time early in the story!~

Screen recording saved on 2025.05.12!~

[The following is the blurb for the ongoing novel My Crown Prince Brother Doesn't Want to Be My Brother]

The current Chancellor had a daughter in his middle age. Ruan Qingying was truly the apple of his eye, with three biological older brothers doting on her. She grew up cherished and pampered.

But nobody is perfect. Though she had features as lovely as a painting and skin like ice and jade, and was known as the most beautiful woman in Changjing, she was frail and often ill because her mother had conceived her at an advanced age and she had been weak from birth.

Even so, Ruan Qingying was the envy of all the young ladies in Changjing.

Because her childhood friend, who had always cared for and protected her, was none other than the current Crown Prince, the cool and noble Xie Chen.

Everyone in Changjing knew that His Highness the Crown Prince was gentle, courteous, and a man of impeccable virtue. Every young lady in the city had dreamed of taking that place at his side.

As the Crown Prince, he had passed the age of twenty but still had yet to select a Crown Princess. People speculated that he was waiting to first send the frail young daughter of the Chancellor down the aisle, so he could then focus on arranging his own marriage.

"Why doesn't His Highness the Crown Prince simply marry the Chancellor's daughter?"

"Hah. With that sickly, frail constitution, she could die any day. His Highness has always put the greater good first. Why would he let a woman like that become Crown Princess?"

To find a husband for Ruan Qingying, the Chancellor compiled a list of every eligible young man in Changjing...

"What kind of man does my little darling want for her future husband?"

Ruan Qingying never let down her guard around Xie Chen. She rested her chin in her hand and tilted her little head. "A gentle and courteous gentleman."

The man's lips curled slightly. He was certain he had this in the bag.

But Ruan Qingying soon grew troubled. From that day on, none of the men she met for possible marriage came close to being "gentle and courteous."

After several such meetings, the young woman changed her mind.

"I think a slender, frail young man would suit me better."

From then on, no one could explain why the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace was repeatedly bedridden with illness and rapidly losing weight.

One day,

The young woman secretly told someone that she had fallen for a man.

Xie Chen kept smiling as warmly as ever, but the curve of his lips stiffened slightly. "But he isn't the gentleman my little darling described, and he isn't particularly slender, either."

The little girl scrunched up her face. "I've thought it over carefully. I'm not suited to someone so proper and boring. I like..."

Her cheeks flushed, and her almond-shaped eyes shone. "Someone a little more exciting."

Later,

At a palace banquet, His Highness the Crown Prince pinned Ruan Qingying into a corner against the wall, behind a screen. He pressed his swollen, red lips firmly against hers, his eyes gleaming with obsession.

"I wonder if my little darling is satisfied?"

Xie Chen had kept up the act for so long that even he had come to believe he was a gentleman.

All because of something the little girl had said when she was young:

[My future husband must be an upright gentleman, renowned throughout Changjing.]

Note: The female lead is a slow-witted, soft-hearted, foolish beauty who is often ill.

The male lead seems like a gentle gentleman, but in reality he is insanely possessive.

Theme: Love needs to be expressed.