If a Mad Dog Had Patience

This novel has been revised. The latest complete version is only available on Jinjiang. Please support the official version~

[Gentle, honest younger sister x insecure, obsessive, gloomy attack dog]

Enemies to lovers / past and present lives / revenge / unrequited love becomes mutual / wallflower love

Teng Linghuan had never liked Pei Heng, and she never should have.

Their families had been sworn enemies for centuries, and they were bitter rivals at court. Whenever she saw him, she wanted to take the long way around.

But fate would not grant her that wish. She died unjustly, yet her soul remained in this world.

When she was reborn, she became Pei Heng's younger sister. And because she had eloped with her lover, Pei Heng caught her and locked her up in his home...

Enemies in their past lives, siblings in this one.

With a mess on her hands, she had no choice but to work with Pei Heng. She tried every way she could think of to get close to him. After several encounters, she realized that Pei Heng's relationship with this younger sister of his was far from proper. It was almost as if he were keeping her as a mistress.

But Teng Linghuan was not that "mistress"...

She had never expected Pei Heng to engage in such an illicit affair in his own home. Teng Linghuan thought she had caught him in a compromising position, only to realize she was wrong.

The cold wind howled outside, but the room was thick with desire. Just as his hand began to wander over her, Teng Linghuan stopped him in time. "Brother, I'm your younger sister. We're bound by blood. Isn't this going too far?"

He sneered. His naturally cold eyes held not a trace of warmth, making her shiver. "I know your tricks well enough to recognize them, Teng Linghuan."

She had to uncover the truth about her death, so she had no choice but to lie low under Pei Heng. Later, she discovered that her death had not been as simple as she had imagined.

And Pei Heng, the son of the enemy she had always believed him to be, seemed to have known her longer than anyone else. He was also... far more obsessive.

He was a madman.

She had died without knowing why, and even her bones had vanished without a trace. She planned to leave as soon as she uncovered the truth about herself, but she accidentally discovered a corpse filled with mercury in Pei Heng's secret chamber...

The body had been preserved perfectly, lying peacefully on the bed. The scent around it was exactly the same as the one on Pei Heng.

As she stared in shock, the door to the secret chamber suddenly closed. Someone wrapped their arms around her, and a low voice sounded behind her, tinged with a faint chill. "Huanhuan, I should have hidden it somewhere deeper."

"Huanhuan, please don't be afraid of me, okay?"

The moon hung in the southeastern sky, while the room slowly filled with a murky, indecent scent. Teng Linghuan instinctively tried to flee, but a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind.

"Huanhuan, don't you like doing this with me?"

*

Pei Heng did not believe in gods or Buddhas.

When he was young and on the run, the Bodhisattva in the temple had offered him no protection. In the end, it was a girl who saved his life. She was his Bodhisattva.

And he was nothing more than a stray attack dog by the roadside, greedily yearning for his Bodhisattva's mercy...

She died before he could confess the feelings he had kept to himself. When she was reborn, all he wanted was to keep her by his side, as his "younger sister," his lover, his possession.

P.S.:

1. Both leads are each other's only partner.

2. The setting is fictional, and the government system and laws are not historically accurate. Please don't scrutinize them too closely.

3. The male and female leads are not blood-related in either life. They will not do anything before it is made clear that they are not related, and after that...

4. The male lead is completely insane and has a strong ghostly vibe. He dug up the female lead's grave.

5. Before being reborn, the female lead was two years older than the male lead. Afterward, she is older than him. It isn't important and is rarely mentioned.

6. The original title was Stealing Jade, Making Joy.

Please add my upcoming novel, The Hairpin's Colors, to your favorites!

[Cool, resilient female official x suspicious, sinister emperor]

(This is an old-school, angst-filled melodrama. If that's not your thing, please proceed with caution. Content warnings are at the end.)

Love by force / marriage before love / a rotten man with a sincere heart / wallflower love / age gap, older man

Xue Caisheng entered the palace as a child and worked her way up from the lowest ranks to become deputy director of the Palace Women's Office. She had responsibilities, a modest amount of savings, and a marriage arranged with a man she loved, who loved her in return. Life could hardly have been better.

Then her future in-laws were suddenly convicted and sentenced to execution for the entire family. As an unmarried woman, she was lucky enough to escape the same fate, but she watched her fiance's head fall at the execution ground, blood splattering across the site.

Before she could even shed a tear, a pair of slender hands covered her eyes. The young emperor leaned close to her ear, his voice low. "Xue Caisheng, marry me, and I will be yours. Refuse, and I will become your ghost."

Knowing that serving the emperor was like keeping company with a tiger, Xue Caisheng quickly gathered her money and secretly sent word to her contacts. She was preparing to flee during the palace's ritual ceremony.

The sky was clear, and the bright moon shone overhead. The mist lifted, revealing the light. Xue Caisheng descended the mountain, thinking she had finally escaped, when a sudden chill touched her neck.

The silver blade flashed, and she instinctively closed her eyes. Zhang Que spoke languidly. "Xue Caisheng, the imperial sacrifice is not yet over. What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're trying to escape."

*

Zhang Que had not won the throne easily. He had spent his early years wandering among commoners and was not brought back to the palace until he was twelve. There were open and hidden threats everywhere, blades flashing from every direction. In the palace, he had to be cautious in every matter and could never afford to let down his guard.

With regional lords conspiring against him and treacherous officials dominating the court, Zhang Que had no one he could trust. He believed he had grown a heart of iron and stone, yet he fell into one woman's trap all the same.

The girl had star-bright eyes and jade-like features. Though she wore no makeup, she was as cool as ice. Her deep brown eyes were distant yet captivating, leaving Zhang Que momentarily stunned.

There was someone like her in the palace, and yet he had never heard of her. He also felt that she looked vaguely familiar...

On a snowy night, Zhang Que confessed his feelings to her, only to learn that she was already engaged. He congratulated her with a smile, then turned around and had her future in-laws convicted.

He thought that would be enough to keep her by his side. He never expected her to conspire with outsiders, risking a criminal charge just to escape his grasp.

Displeased, he waited for her at the foot of the mountain with a sword in hand. But the moment he saw her, his heart softened. If only she would lower her head, he could let bygones be bygones.

On one condition: she had to remain in the palace forever, as his wife, his prisoner, his possession.

Incense curled through the air, masking the suggestive scent. The offering table and lamplight swayed, while the Bodhisattva, eyes lowered, sat unmoving as a mountain.

Before the Buddha, one must not kill. But one may offer a sacrifice.

Ashes drifted down, concealing the warmth of spring in winter.

"A Cai, did that useless fiance of yours ever see you like this?"

Content warnings:

1. The characters are not perfect. The male lead is suspicious because of his background, and he is genuinely messed up when it comes to romance.

2. The female lead is not a virgin, while the male lead is. The male lead is eight years older.

3. This is very old-school in style. No one transmigrates, there is no System, and there is no golden finger.

4. Both leads suffer, physically and emotionally. It will probably have a bad ending, but the extras will have a happy ending.

5. There is a child, but the female lead miscarries.

Theme: Be self-reliant and stand on your own.