Noble Ladies Fear a Persistent Suitor

[Reading Guide] Both leads are each other's first and only. Bickering frenemies, day-to-day banter, and a slow-burn push and pull.

[Slow-Build Romance] Cool, serene beauty VS shameless, jealous husband

The second daughter of the Shu family in the Marquis's household was born into a military family, yet she was unusually gentle and clever. Because her father commanded the imperial guards, she understood that the emperor feared powerful clans growing too strong to control. All she wanted in life was to marry an ordinary man and live in peace.

At sixteen, she met a refined, courteous young man wearing a veil by a stream. At a family banquet, she met him again and learned he was the Ji family son to whom she had been betrothed as a child.

They fell in love, and their match soon became the talk of the capital.

But fate had other plans, and an ill-fated romance quietly ensnared her.

At first, this man seemed frivolous and unserious, with a seductive, amorous face. He repeatedly flirted with and offended her. Whenever she scolded him, he would bring up his tragic past in a pitiful voice, making her soften toward him.

"Just call me A-Zhao from now on," he said with a smile.

A-Zhao was generous and loyal to her, even risking life and limb to help when the Marquis's household fell into trouble.

She began to change her mind. Aside from his sharp tongue, he didn't seem so bad.

But before she could receive his help, an arrest warrant arrived at the estate, and Shu Mo was thrown into prison. The next time she saw A-Zhao was in court. He looked at her coldly, having revealed himself as Prince Su, Ning Zhao, a ruthless man of decisive action.

It turned out everything had been a deception to lure her into his trap.

Furious, she slapped him and swore she'd never see him again. Yet in the lingering smile on his face, she glimpsed a trace of fear that he might lose her.

After that, the Prince Su seemed like a different person.

Whenever she went out, he would appear and disappear around her, following her relentlessly. Though he was stern on the surface, he remembered every offhand remark she made and did foolish things for her.

Strangest of all, his sharp tongue seemed miraculously cured, replaced by endless jealous remarks.

She wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. Shu Mo got straight to the point: "Your Highness is using the same old tricks again. What do you want from me this time? You know I won't give it to you."

Greed gradually surfaced in his deep eyes, like a wolf fixing its gaze on prey. His warm breath fell upon her collarbone. "What if I said I want you, Second Miss Shu?"

"Will you call me A-Zhao one more time? Please?"

[PS] This novel received major revisions after completion. No responsibility is taken for pirated copies.

The heroine has a growth arc. She falls in love with the second male lead early on, while the male lead secretly loves her and gets jealous for no reason.

The male lead is an older man who says one thing and does another, a shameless, devoted lover who pursues his wife and guides her.

Theme: Women are the most beautiful beings in the world.