After Fleeing for Our Lives with the Brooding Prince

[A sweet-on-the-outside, ruthless-on-the-inside daughter of a disgraced minister × an aloof prince who is cold on the outside and kind within]

Second Prince Pei Yuncheng was gloomy and withdrawn, and no one wanted to cross him.

Shen Qing had heard all about him. Then one day, with the new emperor not yet secure on the throne and rebellions breaking out everywhere, she fled alone into the woods and stumbled upon a young man being hunted.

The young man was covered in blood and clinging to life, yet he still exuded a cold, intimidating aura.

It was none other than Second Prince Pei Yuncheng. In this state, he certainly lived up to his reputation.

Shen Qing watched with the detached curiosity of a bystander.

But when she looked more closely, something seemed off.

Seeing his resolute eyes as he risked his life to protect a token, she inexplicably glimpsed a hint of helplessness and misery. In the end, she pulled out the crossbow she had kept for her own protection and pulled the trigger.

Only after making sure the pursuers were all dead did she quietly come out, drag the gravely wounded Pei Yuncheng away, and bandage him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Shen Qing didn't answer, so he pressed on. "Who exactly are you... ngh!"

Shen Qing gave the bandage in her hands a sharp tug, making Pei Yuncheng stop talking at once from the pain.

"Your Highness, stop asking," she said.

-

Three years later, the political situation had settled, and the new emperor was firmly seated on the throne. The old officials who had helped him rise to power had become dangerous threats he could not afford to ignore. The Shen family was at the top of the list.

Just then, a secret report was delivered to the emperor: the Shen family had secretly established enormous granaries and might be plotting rebellion.

The time had come.

On the day the Shen family fell, Second Prince Pei Yuncheng led the troops sent to confiscate their property. Everyone, even street urchins, had heard of his ruthlessness. With the Shen family fallen into his hands, surely he would root them out completely, leaving not a blade of grass behind.

Everyone assumed as much, but no one noticed that, at some point, a woman had appeared beside the second prince, who had never shown interest in women.

-

Later, the Shen family's innocence was proven, and they went from disgraced traitors to heroes. The emperor even intended to arrange a match between the Shen family's daughter and the Crown Prince, Pei Zhiheng.

Everyone sighed that she had finally come through the worst, though they knew of her bond with the second prince and wondered what she would choose. Shen Qing merely lowered her eyes with a shy smile and said, "I am indeed in love with Lord Pei."

At her words, Pei Yuncheng's expression darkened, and he crushed his teacup.

Across the crowd and a folding screen, Shen Qing could only glimpse his injured hand. Her heart skipped a beat. She wanted to get up and explain, but one uninvited visitor after another kept stopping her.

Never mind. Why bother explaining? It would only make her seem presumptuous.

In the end, she gave up on explaining herself.

The next day, the Crown Prince deigned to visit in person and ask for her hand. Everyone knelt to greet him, but Shen Qing was nowhere to be found.

In a place no one knew about, all was pitch-black. A heavy golden chain hung from her ankle. She struggled, but someone caught her wrist and held it fast.

"...Pei Yuncheng, you've gone mad."

She knew him too well. Even though she couldn't see, she recognized him at once.

As soon as she spoke, his fingers suddenly tightened and pulled her closer, close enough for her to feel their warm breaths mingle, close enough to see the jealousy raging in his dark eyes.

She heard him ask:

"Why don't you call me Lord Pei?"

Reading Guide:

One man and one woman, both each other's first and only; happy ending.

Two volumes: the first focuses on the plot, the second on the romance.

The blurb's story begins in Chapter 52.

[Updates at 6 p.m.]

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Coming soon in my collection: My Dead Husband Came Back to Life, So You Can Leave (melodramatic dual rebirth + secret identities revealed + love-rival battle royale). Please support and add it to your collection!

Blurb:

[An irresistible woman who doesn't know it × an obsessive, aloof, high-and-mighty man]

In her previous life, Xie Chaoying was cursed with misfortune.

Her family fell into decline, her father and brothers died, and she entered the Duke's residence with a marriage contract in hand. Not long after, her husband disappeared while investigating a case, leaving no body behind.

Because of this, the whole city saw her as a bad omen and avoided her at all costs.

Only Lu Yunhe, a cold and refined man who had risen to the highest ranks of the court, bent down before her in public and offered her his hand.

"My elder brother's duty is unfinished," he said calmly, his words shaking the world. "From this day forward, I will uphold the rites for both branches of the family and take his place in caring for my sister-in-law."

After their wedding, Lu Yunhe treated her with courtesy and respect. She had no way to repay him, except to shyly but willingly draw close to him behind the red curtains.

When passion took hold and her mind grew hazy, her eyes brimming with tears, she softly called him by instinct, "My lord..."

Before she could finish, his kiss fell upon her brows and eyes. The man who was dignified and aloof by day whispered against her neck, "Call me that again... my lady."

Obediently, Xie Chaoying called him, "My lord..."

She gave him anything he asked, though outside the bedroom he wanted nothing from her and was always distant and cold.

With no father, mother, or husband, Xie Chaoying was like a drifting duckweed. She could only devote herself to raising the children and managing the household, hoping to find a little sense of belonging.

Before the emperor's decree came down, arranging a marriage for Lu Yunhe, she didn't want to burden anyone else and chose to end her own life.

When Lu Yunhe found her, it was too late. He could only hold her tightly and weep, consumed by regret. Xie Chaoying called him "my lord" once more, but before her eyes appeared the face of her late husband, Lu Huaiqian.

When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the time before her wedding. In the mirror was a woman with cloudlike hair and radiant beauty, tears glistening on her lashes.

In this life, she would save her late husband, Lu Huaiqian. In this life, she would no longer burden Lu Yunhe.

-

In his previous life, after Xie Chaoying closed her eyes, Lu Yunhe sat in silence for three days, devoid of all interest in life, then followed her.

When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to the day Xie Chaoying had originally come to his door with her marriage contract. But this time, she didn't come.

Lu Yunhe saw through everything. He knew she had been reborn and was secretly delighted, but then he saw her risk everything and exhaust herself to save her elder brother.

The joy of reuniting with her in a new life was instantly swallowed by a surge of bitterness and jealousy.

Trying to leave him? Not a chance.

Reading Guide:

Happy ending, and the hero has had no prior sexual experience.

Written on 2026.1.8

Theme: See through the clouds and keep to the righteous path in your heart