At the moment he was dragged out of the palace, he thought he would end up with no remains left, but unexpectedly, he was pitied by a woman he had never met before, who gave him the last dignity at the end of his life.

He had always been unable to remember the appearance of women clearly, and had no good feelings towards women at all. Unexpectedly, in his soul state today, he remembered clearly the touch of gentleness as that person bowed her head in the wind and snow.

Such gentleness, he seemed to have never possessed in this life.

As the eldest Lang, he had received ruthlessly strict education since childhood. His mother Emperor Consort told him that he was the eldest brother of the Crown Princess, he was a knife, he must be rigorous, he must be strong.

People all praised that Lang Pei Yuanshao was both talented and virtuous, learned and accomplished, not inferior to women in any way.

If he were a daughter, his future would be limitless.

Even his mother Empress, whenever she saw him, would sigh: “If only you were a girl?”

Hearing such words too often, he seemed to feel that he really could match up to women.

But he didn’t expect that later his cold and aloof personality would make him unable to integrate into the world, and his disinterest in women would become shameless. His diligence and assistance to his younger sister became iron-clad evidence of a man usurping a woman’s position.

On the day his mother Empress unexpectedly died, he, as the Lang, took on the heavy responsibility at the critical moment. At the age of fifteen, he ruled from behind the curtain, assisting his younger sister in governing the country. He worked diligently and conscientiously for five years, but it couldn’t overcome his male identity.

The ancestral tombstone was struck by lightning and split, with the words “Man usurping woman’s position” written on the horizontal cut surface of the stone tablet.

Rumors gradually spread outside: Lang Pei Yuanshao had concentrated all power in himself, intending to ascend to the throne as a man.

The civil and military officials denounced him, and people across the land condemned him.

And he had no way to defend himself.

The censors submitted a memorial listing eight major crimes of the Lang, each word piercing the heart, each sentence difficult to refute.

In his younger sister’s tearful eyes, he saw weak and helpless pleading. But faced with the pressure from the group of ministers, not a single person spoke of his past merits. There were only crimes, the crime of bringing calamity to the country and people. He was finally escorted to the water prison by the Minister of Justice himself.

A month later, the Brave and Valiant King of Zhennan married the current Second Prince as her husband and was selected by the cabinet ministers to assist in governing.

Two months later, the King of Zhennan was promoted to Regent, controlling the military power of the three armies.

Half a year later, his fifth younger sister suddenly developed a heart condition and was bedridden.

Pei Yuanshao, imprisoned in the water prison, bit his finger and wrote a blood letter. He handed it to a trusted person to deliver to his fifth sister.

On the note, the bloodstains were shocking: “My sister, don’t be anxious, temporarily compromise and take care of your health. Everything will wait until the day you come of age. Three hundred thousand troops in the northern desert are ready to march, to behead the treacherous ministers and execute the traitors!”

The military tally for the northern desert army was given to him by his mother Empress before she died, instructing that on the day his sister came of age, she could use the tally to command the army.

This was the Empress Mother’s protection for his sister, and also her wariness towards him. As long as he didn’t want this imperial power, after his sister took personal control of the government, he would still be the revered Lang.

The day after the note was sent out, the fifth sister Empress Yuanming fell ill and was bedridden, beyond medical help, and passed away! A draft imperial edict was made to abdicate the throne to Regent Jing Huan.

That night, he was in the water prison, his hands and feet nailed to the pillory. His good second brother, Pei Yunzhi, who was about to become the Emperor Consort, held a long whip, imposing and majestic.

The pain of the whipping punishment was nothing compared to the pain of losing his dear younger sister.

As he closed his eyes.

His half-brother whom he had raised with his own hands, Pei Yunzhi, wearing a gold-woven robe, stood high above, looking down with pity and smugness: “Good big brother, do you know why you were defeated by a mere rumor?”

His long, sharp nails scraped across his disfigured face: “It was a trap set by my wife and me. Actually, with our strength alone, we couldn’t have competed with you. It’s just a pity that you were born as a Lang, originally high and mighty, enjoying a lifetime of honor. Yet you insisted on being superior in every way, showing off your talent. So what if you’re talented and virtuous? As a mere man, how dare you think of comparing yourself to women? Perfection invites jealousy, showing off your talents only becomes a weapon in others’ hands.”

“Why?” He raised his head with his last bit of strength to ask. Why did you betray me?

Pei Yunzhi suddenly burst into laughter: “I didn’t want to either. But Jing Zhu likes you. She said with her own mouth that the person she loves in this life is the number one beauty in the world… Only after you die can I become the number one. You already had everything, supreme beauty, the Empress Mother and Father Consort, the love of the fifth sister. The praise of the whole world, while I only had her.”

He widened his eyes in shock and breathed his last.

Pei Yuanshao watched as his own corpse was buried. This time, the two palace attendants were not negligent. They dug a big hole for him and threw his body in. Before leaving, they even erected a wooden sign in front of his grave.

He squinted his eyes, but before he could see clearly what was written on the tombstone, his soul lost its support and swayed in the air. When he came to his senses, he found himself back in the palace.

Inside Qianqing Palace.

There were only two people.

One kneeling, one standing.

The woman wearing the dragon robe knelt on the ground. She lowered her head, wanting to kiss the toes of the woman standing in front of her.

But the other person dodged, avoiding it.

Pei Yuanshao’s eyes suddenly widened. In his soul state, he floated above the bedchamber.

He turned his head with effort and finally saw clearly the face of the person standing in the center of the bedchamber. White skin, black hair, willow eyebrows and long eyelashes, tall and straight, as if a fairy had descended.

He couldn’t remember women’s faces very clearly; women in his eyes were just silhouettes. But this person’s appearance, when she had personally covered him with a red robe in the snow earlier, had already been engraved in his mind.

So when he saw her again, the shock in his heart only increased.

“Changning, look at me?” Empress Jing Huan knelt and moved forward two steps, hugging the white-robed woman’s legs and pleading.

The woman in white’s eyes flashed with a trace of disgust. She frowned: “Let go!”

“I won’t!” Jing Huan pursed her lips and looked up at her stubbornly. Those light brown pupils were filled with deep affection and grievance.

Pei Yuanshao, floating in the air above, had his cold peach blossom eyes filled with fear.

Empress Jing Huan, famous at a young age, brave and skilled in battle, defeated the Qiang rebellion at the age of fifteen and was granted a title and made a princess by the previous empress.

This person was five years older than him, yet became famous earlier. Even later, when he managed the court and country at the age of fifteen, the title of the undefeated Southern General still spread far and wide throughout the entire Jin Feng Dynasty.

If this person hadn’t plotted to usurp the throne, her full body of military talent, if compared to his, wouldn’t be inferior.

It’s just a pity that between the two of them, one was a woman and one was a man. When put together for comparison, it became a lesser match.

He had never imagined that the Zhennan Princess, the usually stern current empress of the Jin Feng Dynasty, would kneel and beg for a woman, looking as if she liked her?

Pei Yuanshao was about to shake his head, denying his strange guess.

But then he saw Jing Huan straighten up, embrace the woman who was a head shorter than him around the waist, and forcibly grab her hand to touch his chest.

He said hoarsely: “Changning, I beg you, don’t reject me. I am a man, a true gentleman, I can bear daughters and sons for you!”

The woman in white frowned and pursed her lips. She skillfully broke free from his grip and pinned him against the wall.

Jing Huan was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting her to respond. Her eyes glistened with a hint of moisture. As the person before her leaned in close, the rich female scent from her body washed over her. Her body instinctively weakened a bit, her exposed skin breaking out in goosebumps, her earlobes as red as the brilliant morning clouds.

Such a beautiful scene, but unfortunately, the woman in white remained unmoved. She looked at him calmly, her eyes deep and cold.

Her face enlarged in his view, but there was no next move.

Jing Huan stared at her blankly. The increasingly rich, feminine scent filled her nostrils, and her legs even began to tremble involuntarily.

She stared at those two crimson lips, her eyes deepening slightly, her face uncontrollably showing a clear look of desire.

Jing Huan’s entire body seemed to be trembling, restless, but then came the indifferent rejection from the other person: “You see, even at such a close distance, do you see any emotion for you in my eyes? Whether you’re a man or a woman, it makes no difference to me. I don’t like anyone, regardless of gender. Don’t persist in the future!”

Pei Yuanshao, floating in mid-air, was stunned. He had seen many women being flirtatious and saying one thing while meaning another.

But this was the first time he had seen a woman reject someone in such a peculiar manner, her tone so flat as if discussing today’s weather with someone.

Pei Yuanshao wanted to see Jing Huan’s expression at this moment, but he found his soul gradually becoming transparent.

In the last glimpse before disappearing, he firmly imprinted in his heart the face of the woman in the center of Qianqing Palace. For such a woman, even he couldn’t help but want to ask: “Then what kind of person do you like?”

***

“I know she doesn’t love him.” (Female-dominant)

I’ve read this novel twice already. Sis, I’m highly recommending it to you!

The female lead? Not a good person.
The second male lead? Not a good person.
The male lead? Willingly plays the third party, breaking up the female and second male lead’s relationship despite all the warnings from his friends—so yeah, he’s definitely not a good person either.

Basically, nobody in this novel is simple-minded or without scheming.

The female lead starts off as the male lead’s secretary, but don’t worry—later on, she takes over the company while the male lead steps back to support her. He won’t steal her spotlight, overshadow her, or dull her shine.

I love novels where men are out here snatching wigs, tearing each other down, and going to war just to win the female lead’s affection. And this is exactly that kind of novel. Most of Hai Dai Ran’s works have this dynamic. You’ll see the male characters’ emotions being pushed to the absolute extreme.

There’s even a scene where the second male lead exposes the male lead online for being a homewrecker. The brotherhood immediately gangs up on him, dragging him through the mud. I find it compelling —it completely flips reality on its head, where usually, women are the ones fighting over a man and getting torn apart by the sisterhood.

For me, female leads in the novels I read should only struggle in their careers, not in love. But if the brainless romantics in the story are all men? I have zero complaints.

I’ve pretty much read all of Hai Dai Ran’s novels and even translated all of them—her works are just my thing. I’ll slowly upload everything here. One day, when my website is official, I hope I can invite her to join as one of the star authors.

Here’s the story synopsis:

One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.

Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead

Intro 1:

“I know she doesn’t love him.”

With blood trickling from his clenched fist, Rong Xiu gazed at the woman before him, his eyes clouded with anguish. Hidden in the wardrobe, he had witnessed Fan Xia – the woman he desperately loved – in an intimate embrace with her fiancé. Yet his heart still yearned for her, defying all reason.

Fan Xia, the elegant and composed assistant, carried something mysterious in her eyes whenever she looked at her fiancé, Wen Lan Sheng. Strange occurrences began to surface – secret meetings with the young Gu Jin Yi, an unexplained withdrawal of 5,000 yuan… Then suddenly, her fiancé’s sister, Wen Jing, violently attacked her.

In this matriarchal society, Rong Xiu had risen to become the chairman of a powerful healthcare conglomerate, breaking through gender prejudices. But for the first time, he willingly stepped into the shadows as the other man, disregarding his friends’ warnings to become her secret lover.

Because he had discovered the truth – Fan Xia wasn’t the pure angel everyone believed her to be. And perhaps, he was the only one capable of helping her execute her mysterious plan…

Intro 2:

Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.

He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.

Watched her go public with her boyfriend.

Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.

Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.

The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.

Fan Xia, how can I have you!

【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】

1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy

2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition

_____

Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.

If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.