Snow-Cleared Pearl and Jade

Completed.

[A beautiful, clear-headed concubine maid × a possessive, brooding obsessive]

Xueyin, a maidservant with a tragic past, endured years of hardship before finally finding a place in the household of the wealthiest family in the land, the Wei family. To secure a stable life, she was always careful and circumspect.

The Second Young Master of the household was ascetic and desireless, and his wife was deeply troubled by it. Someone suggested that she quietly send a well-behaved maid to his room. Perhaps the girl could help awaken his interest.

Madam took a liking to Xueyin and sent her to the Second Young Master's chambers.

She carefully set out to please him, using every bit of cleverness she had, and at last warmed the heart of this iceberg.

The Second Young Master doted on her and protected her at every turn. He even taught her to read, then took her as his concubine.

Xueyin had never imagined that anyone would cherish her. She thought she had found a home and would never have to drift from place to place again.

But one day, she accidentally overheard the Second Young Master talking about her with a friend. “Her? If you like her, you can have her. She's just a trinket we bought, after all.”

The words struck her like a blow. Dazed and heartbroken, she returned to her room.

Later, the Wei family became embroiled in a lawsuit, and their fortunes declined.

While the Second Young Master lay bedridden with a lingering illness, Xueyin packed her belongings, bought her freedom, and left.

From then on, she would be free as the open sea and vast sky, never again a bird trapped in a man's cage.

*

Four years later, the shop Xueyin ran became entangled in a lawsuit.

In court, she knelt with her head bowed. The official seated above her was none other than the sickly man she had abandoned years ago. He was imperious, refined, and noble, his cold eyes full of loathing. The one thing that had not changed was his indifferent, merciless voice.

“Because you and I are old acquaintances, I must be all the more impartial in handling this case.”

Wei Xuan hated this bewitching, power-hungry, faithless runaway concubine to the depths of his soul.

His first order of business after being dispatched by imperial command to inspect the region was to settle accounts with her.

Now, crushing her would be easier than crushing an ant.

The initial hearing ended, and Xueyin was taken off to prison in chains.

Wei Xuan came out of the jail.

An admirer of Xueyin had bribed the guards outside and was begging for a chance to see her.

A delicate little girl, about three years old, dropped to her knees and sobbed as she kowtowed to him, pleading for Xueyin.

*

Wei Xuan had never imagined that after their reunion, he would be unable to forget that concubine maid.

He was willing to put the past behind them and keep her by his side to serve him. But she refused outright, preferring death to submission.

Only then did Wei Xuan understand what it meant to want something he could not have.

Note: She runs away while pregnant.

Coming next: Claiming Furong:

Plump beauty × brooding wolfdog

The adopted son of the Prince of Puyang returned to the manor after completing an assignment and caught a fleeting glimpse of her by the lotus pond.

A summer shower came on without warning. Unable to find shelter, the woman plucked a lotus leaf for an umbrella and hurried off clutching a lotus flower. Her rain-soaked clothes traced her voluptuous figure, like a delicate lotus blossom untouched by the storm.

She looked quite young, likely a girl visiting the manor.

After that brief encounter, Chu Jingyu saw her again at the welcome banquet that evening. She sat obediently beside his adoptive father, pouring wine. In the dim candlelight, her soft, full figure and delicate beauty looked like jade and blossoms.

So she was a beauty presented to the Prince of Puyang.

Chu Jingyu toyed with his wine cup and watched with icy eyes, but a desire to possess her, unlike anything he had felt before, began to burn in his heart.

His adoptive father was old and no longer knew how to drink.

Later, the Prince of Puyang, strong and healthy, died suddenly, and the manor descended into chaos.

As his adopted son, Chu Jingyu took charge, deciding what would become of the prince's concubines: some would be buried with him, and others sent away.

Little did anyone know...

In the lonely night, a beautiful woman in a sheer, gauzy dress swayed in Chu Jingyu's room as he held her before a bronze mirror.

Miaofu made herself into a wine cup and fed him drink. Chu Jingyu nuzzled her, inhaling her fragrance, then lifted her chin and looked into the mirror. “Did he ever take you as roughly as I do?”

Note: The heroine has never been with anyone, but the hero, Chu, has.

Theme: Overcome hardship and welcome a better life.