Winning Over Lianzhi

Xiao Yiwei, eldest son of the Duke of Ying’s household, was skilled at archery and horsemanship, excelled in poetry and literature, and possessed the beauty of snow and jade branches. He was the object of desire for countless women in Huaijing.

Unfortunately, at fifteen, for reasons unknown, Xiao Yiwei broke with his family and went alone to the northwest. He was gone for eight years.

From then on, the world knew only the second son, Xiao, as a gem of refined virtue, and dared not speak much of the fearsome General Dingbei.

The General Dingbei was cold and aloof. Even the neighboring kingdom’s little princess pursued him for years without winning so much as a glance.

Yet someone once discovered that the general kept a woman’s jade pendant, always rubbing it between his fingers.

It had been given to him by the person who saved him after he was gravely wounded and fell from a cliff four years ago.

The young woman carried him through a whole night in the vast snow, leaving her legs afflicted with a cold ailment.

An accident had also led them to spend a night together and become intimate.

The borderlands were bitterly cold, and he had never cared much for earthly pleasures. He had planned to return to the northwest, put everything in order, then marry her with a lavish bridal procession so she would never have to live a hard life again.

But when he returned to the place, what awaited him was news of her death.

Xiao Yiwei never imagined that the next time he saw her would be at the Duke’s estate.

Gu Zhixi wore her hair in an elegant high bun, looking every bit a noblewoman. She followed Xiao Che, the second young master, with gentle attentiveness. “Brother Huaiyuan, try this soup I made. How does it taste?”

Only then did Xiao Yiwei learn that her name was false, her identity was false, and even her accidental death was a lie.

She had saved him only because he bore a certain resemblance to Xiao Che.

Gu Zhixi came from humble beginnings. Born to a maid, she was sent away to the countryside as a child and forgotten.

She knew she was uneducated and uncouth. If her elder sister had not entered the palace and become a consort, and if her father had not been unwilling to give up his marriage alliance with the Duke of Ying’s household, he would never have brought her back and carefully groomed her.

Xiao Che was as radiant as the moon and exceptionally distinguished. Those who fell for him were as numerous as fish crossing a river.

Gu Zhixi had to work hard not to irritate him.

On the day Gu Zhixi finally got engaged to him, Xiao Che accidentally witnessed something:

In a dimly lit side room, his elder brother, who had just returned to the estate and made a scene, held his fiancée on his lap.

Behind soft red curtains, with their clothes half undone, Xiao Yiwei stroked her rouge-red lips and smiled like a demon.

“The Duke’s household has two young masters. Xi Xi, which one are you going to marry...?”

The young heir took half a step back and knocked over a candlestick.

A sweet-talking little liar × a lonely, broken, mad-dog general × a noble heir as radiant as the moon

Theme: Be yourself