I Am No Adulterer

Qinghui, the eldest daughter of the Xue family, lost her birth mother early and had no one to care for her. Her father and stepmother sent her to a harsh temple in the mountains, where she stayed for ten years.

At sixteen, Qinghui met a man in the mountains. He seduced her at every turn, and she spent one night with him at a mountain villa.

After that night, he vanished without a trace. Qinghui bitterly regretted what had happened and returned to the Xue family alone. She secretly ran a secondhand clothing shop, hoping to save enough money to leave as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, after she went to the palace to pray for blessings, the faithless man who had disappeared for four years secretly came looking for her, claiming he wanted to rekindle their relationship.

Qinghui pretended to play along. When the time was right, she ran!

She wanted nothing to do with the cold-hearted Xue family! Nor did she want anything to do with the faithless man who had seduced and abandoned her!

Only when palace guards dragged her back to the palace did Qinghui learn that the faithless man she hated with all her heart was actually...!

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[Little Scene 1]

On the night he had her brought back to the palace, the Emperor dismissed everyone else. In the cold, secluded palace chamber, he slowly removed the young woman's last undergarment and whispered to her as she burned with shame and fury, "A few months ago, my darling called me her lover. Did you know that by law, the man in an illicit affair must pay a fine of four taels of silver, while the woman... must be stripped and beaten?"

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[Little Scene 2]

After a thoroughly satisfying night together, the Emperor patiently wiped the fine sweat from the young woman's brow. "Four years ago, it was the first time for both of us, so it's no surprise we were inexperienced... I wonder if my darling enjoyed herself this time?"

The young woman hid her flushed face beneath the quilt, refusing to speak to him.

"If you still haven't had enough, my darling, we can do it three more times."

Reading Guide:

1. One-on-one romance, both leads have only ever been with each other, happy ending.

2. The male lead is no gentleman and is a jerk. He uses all kinds of schemes to stick close to the female lead.

3. The leads first meet outside the palace with secret identities. After their reunion, the female lead's identity is exposed right away, while the male lead's is revealed midway through. This won't affect your enjoyment.

4. Their first love is very sweet. His pursuit of her is sweet with a touch of bitterness, with occasional mild angst, but overall it's lighthearted.

5. The female lead is always growing.

Theme: The climbing vine stands tall