An Ordinary Woman Coveted by the Crown Prince

Synopsis: Among the countless elegant young ladies of Yanjing, Liu Yun considered herself perfectly ordinary. Her father had toiled for most of his life only to remain a minor fifth-rank official, and her own talents were nothing remarkable. Her appearance could only be described as fair-skinned and mildly pretty. Her one saving grace was that she got along well with everyone, never making enemies. Even the most difficult lady in Yanjing could share a laugh or two with her. Barring any surprises, Liu Yun expected her parents to marry her off to a young man who, like herself, wasn’t particularly outstanding among his peers but would be a suitable match. Take, for instance, Yang Sanlang, the son of her father’s old friend Uncle Yang. He seemed to have taken a liking to her as well. Three betrothal gifts, six ceremonial rites, tending to her husband and raising their children—an ordinary but uneventful second half of life. Liu Yun was prepared for it. But at County Princess Jin Ning’s birthday banquet, she noticed someone staring at her. She glanced over discreetly and found it was in the direction of Crown Prince Xiao Heng. Still, Liu Yun didn’t suspect him. That man, the Crown Prince, was arrogant beyond measure, with his nose in the air and impossibly picky standards. The beauties of Yanjing were like clouds, yet in his words, they were nothing but “cheap powder and vulgar rouge.” Liu Yun never gave it a second thought, simply assuming she’d misread the situation. It wasn’t until the Dharma Assembly at Fahua Temple in Yanjing that a group of young ladies, Liu Yun among them, was taken hostage. To fool the bandits, Liu Yun pretended to be unconscious. And then Xiao Heng, who had come to the rescue, stole a kiss from her. Liu Yun had no idea what he meant by it. Worse, she feared the Crown Prince intended to make her his concubine. When she woke, she pretended she knew nothing at all. Coincidentally, the Yang family came to propose marriage around that time. Seeing nothing amiss, Liu Yun was about to accept. But what arrived instead was an imperial edict from the palace—she was to be the Crown Princess. That was a bit too thrilling. … Liu Yun of the Liu family—mediocre in looks, unremarkable in talent, dull in temperament, and from an undistinguished household. That was Xiao Heng’s first impression of Liu Yun when he was sixteen. But from that moment on, for reasons he couldn’t fathom, that face kept flashing unbidden through his mind. The following year, at the Mid-Autumn palace banquet, a small snake startled a crowd of young ladies, Liu Yun among them. Seeing her pitiful, delicate appearance as she trembled in fright, Xiao Heng dreamed of her that very night—dreams of a most intimate nature. At first, he suspected he’d been placed under some kind of Occult Curse. He recited Buddhist scriptures for months, only to find it was all futile. The third year, he couldn’t resist and kissed her. Watching her lashes flutter rapidly beneath his lips, Xiao Heng knew she was fully aware of everything. If that was the case, then why was she discussing marriage with that Yang Sanlang, who was ten thousand leagues beneath him? Xiao Heng was deeply displeased. That very night, he went to his father and begged for an imperial edict of betrothal. Liu Yun of the Liu family, you are surely mine. *** A romance-driven, sweet little treat. The female lead isn’t truly plain—she’s just not top-tier in looks, talent, or family background compared to the other ladies. She’s the slow-blooming, quietly pretty type with high charisma and approachability, and in the male lead’s eyes, she’s the most beautiful of all. The female lead experiences love after marriage; the male lead harbors dark, watchful obsession. An ordinary, honest young lady vs. an impossibly picky, high-born Crown Prince Content Tags: Court Nobility, Heaven-Made Match, Proud Son of Heaven, Sweet Romance, Secret Crush — Description from novelcodex.orgFull novel: An Ordinary Woman Coveted by the Crown Prince — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠