Pei Anyi had spent ten years as a princess before being told she had been switched at birth, and that someone else was the real princess.
The once pampered princess had her fief and title taken away, then was sent back to live with her birth parents.
Five years later, her parents died of illness, and fifteen-year-old Pei Anyi made a living through handicrafts. She had blossomed into a ravishing beauty, and a group of spoiled young masters took an interest in making her their concubine.
After all, she was only a fake princess who had occupied the real princess's place for years. To avoid upsetting the real princess, they figured they could do her the favor of taking her as a concubine.
One day, the Crown Prince was touring the capital when he passed her handicraft shop.
He happened to see his former younger sister being harassed by a group of young masters. They wanted to take her as a concubine and asked which of them she would choose.
Pei Anyi looked flustered and helpless, her eyes brimming with both shame and tears.
In that instant, the Crown Prince remembered all the countless days and nights when Pei Anyi had clung to his side, begging him coquettishly, "Can I stay in the Eastern Palace forever instead of getting married?"
With him as the standard, the Crown Prince couldn't believe she would fancy these spoiled young masters.
But now, after a long silence, he heard her say in a flat, gentle voice, "Gentlemen, please give me a few days to think it over."
The Crown Prince was dazed for a long time. At last, he remembered those days and nights, and the feeling of hating his fate and being worn down to the bone.
If his younger sister was no longer his sister, then she could be his wife.
Reader's Guide:
1. A little bittersweet. Gentle, vulnerable younger sister x domineering older brother. Coercive romance.
2. One-on-one, happy ending.
Theme: Live life with care
