Radiant Splendor

Shen Zhaohua is the daughter of the Grand Secretary and Chief Councillor of the current dynasty.

One fleeting glimpse at the Lantern Festival is all it takes for the young girl, newly awakened to love, to fall for him at first sight.

Ignoring all propriety, she forces Xiao Chengyuan to marry her, only to be abandoned beneath enemy blades as her entire family is destroyed.

On the brink of death, she is saved by Wen Jingheng, a military strategist from Mobei.

He wears a moon-white robe and has the air of a noble gentleman, bright and unsullied.

Yet his hands are stained with the blood of his own people.

To him, she is a convenient toy to amuse him when he is bored: teased and used in every possible way.

Whom will the trap he so carefully laid ensnare in the end?

The road back to the capital is long, and her hatred burns like the sky.

But she finds the vermilion gates sealed, her father executed, and the women of the Shen family all sent to the imperial entertainment bureau.

When a love that once carved itself into her heart becomes a hatred that eats away at her soul, and a noble daughter is reduced to dust with no means of revenge,

Xiao Chengyuan bends down, his voice cold, low, and dangerous. "Perhaps... you'd have a better chance right under my nose."

"Fine." She smiles like a flower, while the dagger hidden in her sleeve gleams coldly.

Only by staying at his side can she drag him into hell!

She uses herself as bait, laying her plans one step at a time.

Where her banners point, the iron hooves of the Jingnan army break through the nine gates of the capital.

Clad in a phoenix robe, she looks down upon the land she once knew!

About Wen Jingheng, our deranged, obsessive military strategist:

His entire family was executed when he was young.

He says he has no parents, no brothers or sisters, no relatives or kin, and no close friends!

Life holds no meaning...

But the only person in his memory who ever gave him warmth

was used, tormented, and toyed with by him.

The moment he recognized her, he was terrified: afraid she would despise him, and even more afraid he would be too ashamed to face her.

He doesn't dare hope she'll forgive him, but his awkward love blazes like a wildfire, leaving him unable to control himself...

(Revenge and punishing scumbags + two strong leads in a political power struggle + an intense love triangle. The female lead grows from meek to ruthless, while the male lead carefully plots every move only to fall into the trap of love.)

Reader warning: This is not a satisfying revenge story. The female lead is mistreated early on, so please skip it if that's not for you, and don't attack the author. The scumbags get their comeuppance later. Two male leads: the deranged strategist versus the stoic general. Wen Jingheng is the endgame partner, and Xiao Chengyuan is the male lead. The pacing is slow, but the further you read, the more it pays off. Please be patient, everyone~

Major trigger warning: The female lead is not chaste. Don't read if you demand a virtuous heroine!

Crimson robes and white boots, treading snow without a trace.

Blood and souls bear witness: Helian Bugui.

He crawled out of hell, living only for revenge, with a fearsome reputation.

She grew up in a secluded paradise and has never seen the world's cruelty, but fate brings her face to face with him, the living King of Hell.

Her father wiped out his entire family. How can this game be resolved?

She stands alone on his path of revenge, yet she is worth a thousand armies...

About Helian Bugui:

He remembers every detail of how he survived in the most desperate of circumstances. His hatred has sunk into his bones.

Why does he still want to live now? For revenge? It seems impossible to find a better reason.

He has little time left to live?

Then he'll bring the whole world down with him!

He holds the beauty in his arms tightly and listens to her heartbeat, only then able to feel that she is alive.

How strange. He, too, sometimes feels lonely...

Theme: Is there truly a way to have it all, to stay true to one's country and one's beloved...