The Cat I Picked Up Is a Cruel Crown Prince

Wen Tan, an honorably retired employee of the transmigration-into-a-book bureau, is enjoying her retirement in a political intrigue novel.

According to the original plot, she is the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites, and is murdered because of her engagement to the Second Prince, Rong Zhao.

Wen Tan fakes her death and happily settles into a lazy life.

By day, she's Physician Wen, healing the sick and admiring handsome men on the side. By night, she's a serious fluff enthusiast, hopelessly addicted to petting cats and dogs.

Her happy days don't last long.

The book's biggest villain, Crown Prince Rong Wei, is finally going mad. They say that at six, he bested a great Confucian scholar in debate before the throne, and that his face was carved like a god's, yet he slaughtered his way through his coming-of-age ceremony and was bloodthirsty by nature.

The Empress starts searching everywhere for someone who can cure the Crown Prince's madness. In no time, every physician in the city is on edge.

To make matters worse, Wen Tan discovers that her precious pig-cat seems to have gone mad too...

One moment, it gets bullied by Dahuang and goes "meow, meow, meow." The next, it beats Dahuang until he yowls, "Aow, aow, aow."

One moment, it has diarrhea in the yard. The next, it runs into the river to wash itself in a fit of embarrassment.

One moment, it lies on its back and lets her bury her face in its fluffy belly. The next, it turns cold and hisses at her furiously.

And that's not all. The pig-cat is growing less and less affectionate toward her.

Wen Tan can't stand for that. She'll make it love her whether it wants to or not!

Whenever the pig-cat comes into view, she scoops it up and buries her face in its fur from head to toe.

Gradually, the pig-cat goes from treating her like a teething toy, to lying stiff as a board and only letting her sniff the back of its head, to finally sprawling like a pancake and letting her sniff to her heart's content.

Wen Tan is just celebrating the return of her perfect cat when its possessiveness starts growing crazier by the day:

She isn't allowed to smell like other cats.

If Dahuang gets close to her, he gets beaten up.

Eventually, she can't even praise Dazhuang from the next village for being handsome!

Just hearing that is enough to make the pig-cat go on hunger strike!

Wen Tan is delighted by all the fluffy temptation and thinks her retirement will go smoothly, but then her family finds her, and she's forced to go through with a marriage.

*

On their wedding night, the sky is dark and the candlelight flickers.

Inside the red silk curtains, Wen Tan is backed into a corner.

Rong Wei lifts her chin with his fingertips and tightens his hold. "You promised I was the only one for you. Wen Tan, you're such a liar."

Wen Tan's heart trembles. "I... I'm supposed to marry the Second Prince..."

Before she can finish, she hears Rong Wei chuckle.

"Oh? Then should I... call you my sister-in-law?"

The moment his soul possessed a cat's body, Rong Wei finally believed he'd truly been reborn.

The good news: He knows everything that happened in his previous life, and exactly how to pave his way in this one.

The bad news: He's in a cat's body, and can only return to his own body temporarily by staying close to Wen Tan.

He approaches her as a cat, gets close to her, and only wants a chance to return to his body. But this woman keeps burying her face in his belly, kneading him, and telling him again and again that she loves him.

Rong Wei thinks about running away, about keeping his distance, but he can't help lying down beside her and waiting for her to pet him.

He thinks that once he's truly free of the cat's body, he might let Wen Tan stay by his side.

But the girl who told him he was the person she loved most in the world turns around and joyfully marries his younger brother.

Rong Wei smiles.

A fickle owner deserves to be locked up and thoroughly marked by her pet, until she reeks of its scent from head to toe and no other pet dares covet her.

*

Extra scene:

On the dragon throne in the Golden Hall.

The new emperor's slightly calloused hand strokes the back of Wen Tan's neck. He pulls her onto his lap. The muscles of his legs, taut beneath his dragon robe, are so hot they make her blush.

His canine teeth graze her ear.

Rong Wei's voice is husky. "Master, did you enjoy sniffing me as much back then?"

Wen Tan bites her lip. "I-I never sniffed you!"

The man laughs softly. The next second, he bites down hard on her soft cheek, then asks, pretending not to know: "Then who did you sniff? Rong Zhao? Dazhuang? Or..."

Wen Tan trembles all over. "A cat! I sniffed a cat!"

Wen Tan is turned over by the waist.

Rong Wei: "Master, which do you like better, cats or those men?"

Wen Tan QAQ: "Cats!"

"Mrow, "

"Men!"

"Mm, "

"Rong Wei is the best in the whole world!"

Beautiful, lazy, fluff-loving heroine X gloomy, ruthless, possessive hero. The heroine has a bit of a harem-protagonist vibe.

Theme: Kindness of heart is the foundation of a good life