The Princess Consort's Substitute Bride

A thousand years of longing, a thousand years of steadfast protection, finally win them a lifetime together, side by side. But happiness is hard-won, and the road ahead is full of sorrow. Can she overcome every obstacle and awaken the love sleeping within him?... He is Xuan Yuan Cheng Jing, the Seventh Prince of the Eastern Ao Kingdom. After guarding the frontier for three years, he returns in triumph with another peerlessly beautiful woman, is named Prince Li, and gives another woman his love for life! She becomes the Prime Minister's Third Daughter, and by imperial decree is to marry Prince Li. But on their wedding day, he brings his concubine into the manor with her, and that concubine is none other than her elder sister from the immortal realm! Lian Cheng Bi, Crown Prince of the Southern Zhan Kingdom, could compose poetry at seven and rule the country at ten. Though he regards women as mere clothing, he is willing to abandon his ambition to unite the realm for her! Lian Cheng Yu, the cast-off son of the Southern Zhan Kingdom and Night Killer of the Seven Killings Pavilion, leaps from a cliff for her, sacrificing half a lifetime of cultivation! Xuan Yuan Cheng Jun, the Ninth Prince of the Eastern Ao Kingdom, is unruly, arrogant, and wickedly charming. Though he has had countless women, he falls at the hands of someone by her side. Ying Ruo, the loyal little maid who has always followed her through life and death, never leaving her side. Excerpt One “This subject requests Your Majesty's gracious permission to marry on the same day as the woman Prince Li loves!” “What?” The emperor on the throne cried out in surprise. He studied the woman below. A mist welled in her calm eyes, seeming both pleading and willing. Even he, a man who had read countless people, could not understand what was in her heart. What?! Had the Third Miss gone mad? She was asking to enter the household at the same time as a concubine! The Women's Admonitions forbade women from being quarrelsome or jealous, but who could willingly let her husband take a concubine, let alone agree to marry on the same day? Was the Third Miss truly magnanimous, or had grief made her lose her senses? “Do you know what you are saying?” the emperor asked in a stern voice. “I do. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request.” She still wore a faint smile and lowered her head slightly. Excerpt Two “Let her go! My princess consort is more valuable as a hostage. I'll trade her for you!” As he spoke, he grabbed Meng Han by the arm and shoved her forward. Meng Han's eyes flashed with pain, disbelief, and sorrow... But all she saw in Prince Li's eyes was indifference and ruthlessness. No, his heartlessness was for her alone. His eyes were plainly full of tenderness for another woman! Meng Han closed her eyes in grief. When she opened them again, they were calm and still. At the same time, Zi Han used a deft move to escape the assassin's blade. To onlookers, however, it looked as if she had stumbled free, and she cried, “No, don't trade the princess consort for me!” The instant Zi Han escaped, the assassin's blade was pressed to Meng Han's neck. Its icy edge cut her fair skin, and bright red blood trickled down her neck, leaving plum blossoms on her snow-white robe. Meng Han only smiled coldly. No blade could be as cold as her heart!