She willingly stepped into hell, becoming the gaudiest, sharpest blade in his hand, and even... the most tempting bait.
She navigated the powerful, offering up everything to help him ascend the throne.
Miaoyu scoffed coldly. "His Highness will never love you."
Yarong lowered her eyes and gave a bitter laugh. "I know, Miaomiao, but that's just how love is. It makes no sense."
Yarong had always known the truth. For all these years, he had watched her love him with cold indifference, enjoying everything she gave up for him.
But when he became emperor, she became the stain on his imperial robes that he most wanted to erase, and the desire he could least control.
He imprisoned her on the imperial bed and tormented her day after day, gripping her chin and forcing her to please him, demanding that she bear him an heir.
The sweeter the dream, the more painful it is to wake.
Miaoyu reached out to her once again.
He held the empire in his hands and did whatever he pleased, but when she truly disappeared...
"Even if I have to search the entire realm, I will bring her back!"
Curtain up
His thumb smeared the blood that had spattered on Yarong's chin. The deep red gradually faded, spreading across half her face.
Zhou Tanming casually took the blade from her hand, his eyes filled with fascination. "You still look just like you did back then. The slightest touch of color is enough to make you breathtakingly alluring..."
Her torn clothes and the blade were tossed beyond the curtains.
"Bear me... no, bear me a child."
"A child who looks like you..."
"And raise the child in the central palace."
Xue Wanyin, who had been kneeling by the bed with an expressionless face, suddenly burst into tears at those last words.
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The fallen prince Zhou Tanming is our master. Using the secret identity of Jieyu House, we move among the powerful, gathering leverage and uncovering secret information for him. It's one of the ways we help him seize power.
An ancient-world version of a completely naked secret agent? I wonder if anyone's seen that movie.
Two little dogs, both waiting in the rain for love, keeping each other warm.
Are the missions basically a VN? Not sure, I'll have to see. A wild mix of genres, but no harem.
Don't insult me, because I'll get mad and then get even madder! Awoo~
[The first draft blurb is gone / I wrote a bit about the missions, smile.jpg]
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Assassin x assassin / courtesan x male courtesan / secret identities / in my setting, male courtesans only serve women
The whole main cast is unhinged / tragic, all-consuming love / a messy stew of melodrama
The heroine falls out of love later on, but the supporting male character who's already risen to power takes her by force / she has the upper hand mentally / a madwoman trains a mad dog
The heroine finds pleasure in her own pain (the reason will be explained in the story)
The male lead is beautiful, in an unmistakable way, but underneath he's a pure villain, driven mad by being unable to have the love he wants and unable to escape control.
I can't be bothered to roast the supporting male character. He's... complicated.
I'll keep the supporting female character under wraps for now, hehe.
The title was inspired by a line in Dream of the Red Chamber: Only after all has faded do you learn how beautiful the flowers can be.
Blurb edited June 7, 2025 [Currently stockpiling chapters ^~^ Coming soon]
Theme: Live well, stay positive, and things will get better.
