The head of Ma Family, person in charge of the second dam, died in an accident, and Ma Family was on the decline since then. The young master of Ma Family, a foppish "boy", reformed "himself" thoroughly and tried to take over the job of protecting and developing the second dam. "He" began to recruit boatmen, stand out in lion dance pageant and guard Ma Family and its fame. "He" fought against illegal salt vendors, and fought for the royal ticket, but became a prisoner due to dirty tricks of the enemies. Imperial censor Wu Zhong spare no effort in rescuing his sweetheart. Was Wu a gay? Did you know that the present head of Ma Family was a girl?
Proofread by Fu Tianying
As the night grew darker, the lanterns were all lit up. The streets along the Datong River were still busy with pedestrians coming and going, for it was the Zhongyuan Festival (the traditional Chinese holiday to pray for ancestors and souls) and it was a convention that people would put lanterns on the river at night of this day.
Besides the cries of roadside vendors and hawkers, what was more attractive was a wide variety of goods such as clay dolls, gilding gourds, lifelike monkeys, and exquisite lanterns which attracted pedestrians to appreciate and purchase.
The woman in white walked towards the Qingfeng Dam. She was tall and elegant with half-piled hair. With a silvery mask covering the lower side of her face, she glanced right and left with her bright eyes which were shining just like stars.
Seeing the woman in white, some pedestrians moved aside for her subconsciously, discussing in a whisper.
"What a beautiful lady! Where did she come from?"
"She is like a fairy in the sky. Is she a fairy descending to the earth?"
Having heard the whispers, the woman in white walked at a brisk pace, with pride on her face. A gust of wind blew, her sleeves were fluttering, setting her figure off to advantage; now she almost looked like a fairy indeed.
Walking to the bridge of Qingfeng Dam, she stopped and looked down. Among those colorful lanterns floating on the river, most of them were eggplant lanterns. The poor had not enough money to buy lanterns, so they just picked big eggplants, cut them in halves to make lanterns with bamboo shade pieces around and a small candle in center. Those eggplant lanterns floated on the river, flat and steady, which formed a sense of beauty while floating with colorful lanterns.
Suddenly, someone fell into the river and the crowd became noisy. After a while, the person disappeared. Those who wanted to go down to rescue were always be deliberately or unintentionally stopped or pushed away. At that time, the woman in white jumped into the river.
For a while, the drowning man was dragged to the riverside and the crowd helped to pull him to the bank. It occurred to the crowd that the drowning man was a young man dressed like a scholar. Then after coming back to the bank, the woman in white expertly pressed the abdomen of the young man and squeezed the water out.
Waking up in confusion, the scholar saw a woman in white watching him. She wore a mask with a pair of eyes shining like stars. He struggled to sit up and asked, "You saved me? May I ask your name for repaying you later?"
In the twinkling of an eye, the woman hatched an idea and answered seriously, "I am a daughter of Dragon King. I just happened to be here to save you and you do not have to take it to your heart." Then she stood up, walked a few steps towards the river, jumped down and disappeared without leaving any trace, just like a dragon flying into the river.
At that time, the crowd on the riverbank began to cheer and screamed out, "She is the daughter of Dragon King! The daughter of Dragon King!"
Wanjin Building was one of the most famous brothels in Shuntian Prefecture. At this point, two young men dressed like the noble were drinking their fill in a private room. One of them raised his wine cup and toasted to a slightly plump scholar in deluxe brocades, "Childe Hu, you would take the first place at in the metropolitan examination as long as Wu Zhong drowned to death. Let me toast to the future Number One Scholar! (the title given to the scholar who achieved the highest score at the highest level of the Chinese imperial examinations).
The guy who was talking was Tian Zhonghua, the eldest son of Tian clan, one of the clans of guarding the first dam of Datong River. It was he who plotted to push Wu Zhong down to the river.
Childe Hu drained his wine cup with one gulp, "God knows how he, a poor guy from the countryside, was praised by the learned scholar, Qian, and recommended to enter the Imperial College! Even worse, Scholar Qian wanted to accept him as a disciple! My uncle asked Scholar Qian to do him a favor by being an instructor of me, but he refused. What if he accepts Wu Zhong as a disciple? Then I would be an object of universal derision!"
Tian Ronghua chimed in and agreed that Scholar Qian was as blind as a bat.
The full name of Childe Hu was Hu Chunqiu. His uncle, an official, took Liu Jin a powerful eunuch in imperial court as the adopted father. Relying on his uncle's power, Hu Chunqiu had always been arrogant and domineering. He once tried to be the disciple of Scholar Qian but was rejected. Wu Zhong, out of nowhere, was allowed by Scholar Qian to attend the lectures in Zhongtian Pavilion and was praised many times, which annoyed Hu Chunqiu extremely. Thus, he invited Wu to enjoy the sight of river lamps and arranged Tian Ronghua to pull Wu Zhong down to the river, taking advantage of the mussy crowd in the Zhongyuan Festival. Having known that Wu Zhong couldn't swim, Hu tried to prevent people from saving him, trying to drown Wu to death.
The door opened when they were celebrating. An attendant rushed in with an anxious face.
"Wu Zhong was not dead!"
"What!" Hu Chunqiu and Tian Ronhua answered in utter astonishment.
"I did push him down to the river, but he was...was saved."
"By who?" Tian Ronghua added, "Who upset my plan?"
The attendant paused for a moment. His face was thick with disbelief, "It was...was the daughter of Dragon King..."
"Nonsense! I would be the Jade Emperor (the Supreme Deity of Taoism) if there is a daughter of Dragon King!" Hu Chunqiu broke out into curses.
"It must be the excuse you figured out to fool me!"
"I dare not. Lots of people saw it. That woman jumped into the river and disappeared. If she were a mortal, how could she stay under the water for such a long time? For almost four hours under the water!"
"An expert swimmer can indeed hold his breath and swim to a place with few people. However, on such a festival, few can hold his breath for such a long time, let alone a woman. Women are not allowed to swim in the area under the control of the five dams, so it is quite odd," Tian Ronghua thought about all the expert swimmers in his mind but could not think of a woman who could do it.
"Cut the crap. What's the next step? Any good ideas?" Hu Chunqiu asked impatiently.
"I have got an idea. Why don't we set fire to the inn where Wu Zhong is lodging?Then we can take the opportunity to steal his baggage. He cannot stay at the Imperial City for having no money. Even though he struggles to stay, making a living will definitely delay his progress of study," Tian Ronghua said with an evil smile.
"That's great! But be careful to make it a low-profile campaign this time. There are so many people in the inn. It would become a big trouble if they were burned to death."
"I know. I will arrange someone to throw some torches and scream out. You can rest assured that no one will be hurt. But the guards of Ma family may disrupt our plan so we have to get out of sight of the guards of Ma family for that inn is right beside the Ma family."
"The Ma family in charge of the second dam, which is against your family all the time? Well, I will deal with Ma family as long as you get this thing done," Hu Chunqiu said casually.
"I will arrange proper people right away and ask them to set on fire when most people fall asleep. Wu Zhong would not recover his strength after being saved from drowning. He certainly won't bring the baggage in panic while trying to escape the fire."
The attendant left in a hurry after being told a few words by Tian Ronghua.
The moon was bright and it was about eleven o'clock at night and the busy streets slowly became quiet. Almost no one was seen on the street. Occasionally, the night watchman passed and shouted while ringing the gong, "Watch for fire in dry days! It is eleven o'clock at night!"
A man sneaked up on a corner of that inn with a bucket of stuff in his hand. He took out the stuff from the bucket, and it turned to be cotton cloth soaked in kerosene. Then he carefully took out the flint. Probably out of nervousness, he hit it several times, but failed to catch on fire.
At this point, a cold voice was heard behind, "Need any help?"
As soon as that man turned back, he saw a woman in white standing behind. She was like a ghost with her face half covered by the long drooping hair which was dripping.
"A ghost!" that man screamed out. Throwing away the flint in his hand, he ran away immediately, just wanting to get rid of the ghost right away.
The woman in white pushed her hair aside, revealing a pretty face. She, with disdain, kicked off the cotton cloth on the ground, laughed in a crisp and arrogant voice, "When I began to play with fire, you were still a baby!"
When they met for the first time, the cute baby crawled into Sheng Yeting’s lap and called him “Daddy”. Unexpectedly, after that, his life changed… One day, the cute baby told him, “Daddy, an uncle revealed his feelings to Mommy just now.” “Help Daddy make the bed. I’ll go bring the woman home and have her unable to get up from the bed by teaching her a lesson for good.” He used to be the merciless and resolute emperor of the business empire, cold and indifferent towards females. However, he was completely defeated by that woman. For the rest of their life, he would love her wholeheartedly and give birth to a bunch of little chubby babies.
Gu Mian was getting married to Song Huaiyan, a cold young CEO she had met only once. Her elegant white gown trailed down the red carpet; Malbec was whirling in the wine glass. She had become Madame Song, the throne of thousands of young girls' dreams. However, she found she was increasingly unable to control herself: from her torso, her limbs, her tongue, her throat, to her heart, which leaned more and more towards her newly-married husband. < Please complete the mission and continue to look for trouble! > The voice of Trouble-Making System rang out in Gu Mian’s mind. < This is the way you can control your body, and the price you have to pay for your reincarnation! > “Hmph! Easy peasy!” Gu Mian shook the hemline of her dress, sat on the gorgeous European style sofa with her leg crossed, and drained the Malbec in one go. “Looking for trouble? That was my professional in my last life.”
When the company of her archenemy went bankrupt, she held a party in the bar to celebrate and took him away! In the hotel, Shu Yin stood on her tiptoes and cooed upon his ear, "Yan Ci, I hear that you're looking for a sugar mama. I can give you what you want." "In that case, why don't you sign the contract right now? How long would you like to keep me? A month or a year?" The next day, she stared at her torn dress in a daze. Recalling what they had done in bed last night, she felt aggrieved. As the sugar mama, however, she couldn't complain. Later, he moved into her place and got her pregnant. Finally, the truth was revealed - Yan Ci was never broke. It was just a scheme to trick her into his arms so that he could dote on her for the rest of her life. A Scheming and Doting Billionaire VS A Smart and Spoiled Lady
Having been married for two years, he only takes her as an enemy. He never touches her, and even insult her in front of other women, "Si Wan, you are the most disgusting woman in the world." Facing his ruthlessness, she decides to leave, "Gong Siming, if you don't love, just let me go." But he replied dominantly, "Si Wan, of course I love you." Si Wan is caught in a trance. And he goes on, "I want to love you tenderly every night."
She, being set up by her husband, became a laughing stock in the city and was forced to leave. Four years later, she came back with a brand-new self. Revenge was a dish better served cold. She swore to take back everything that belonged to her. He, by mistake, got himself involved in her life. He wanted to make up for her, and ended up falling in love… “Wen Shuyue, one son is enough for us. I wish we have some lovely daughters. The more, the better.”
A scheme led to a cute baby for them. Several years later, she met her former lover once again. The iceberg-like president turned into a big wolf full of desire! He stayed together with her all the time, disproving rumors with acts. She only wanted to say that rumors truly hurt.
Loraine was a dutiful wife to Marco since they got married three years ago. However, he treated her like trash. Nothing she did softened his heart. One day, Loraine got fed up with it all. She asked him for a divorce and left him to enjoy with his mistress. The elites looked at her like she was deranged. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you so willing to divorce him?" "It's because I need to return home to get a billion-dollar fortune. Besides, I don't love him anymore," Loraine replied with a smile. They all laughed at her. Some believed that the divorce affected her mentally. It wasn't until the next day that they realized she wasn't fibbing. A woman was suddenly declared the world's youngest female billionaire. It turned out to be Loraine! Marco was shocked to the bone. When he met his ex-wife again, she was a changed person. A group of handsome young men surrounded her. She was smiling at them all. The sight made Marco's heart ache severely. Putting his pride aside, he tried to win her back. "Hello, love. I see that you are a billionaire now. You shouldn't be with suckers who just want your money. How about you come back to me? I'm a billionaire too. Together, we can build a strong empire. What do you say?" Loraine squinted at her ex-husband with her lips curled in disgust.
"Who is she?" I asked, feeling tears well up in my eyes. "He met her at the Alpha training camp," he said. "She is a perfect suitor for him. It snowed last night, indicating that his wolf is happy with his choice." My heart sank, and tears made their way down my cheeks. Alexander took my innocence last night, and now he is taking that thing in his office as his Luna. **** Emily never shifted on her 18th birthday and became the laughingstock of the pack. When her old crush, Alexander Black, returns from Alpha Training, she never expected him to be her mate. After a night of passionate love, Emily finds out that young Alpha Alexander has taken a chosen mate. Heartbroken and humiliated, Emily runs off and disappears from the pack. Now, five years later, Emily is a high-ranking warrior in King Alpha's army, specializing in sensitive matters. When her best friend invites her to a night of music and laughter, she never expects to run into her mate, Alexander. Will Alexander figure out it is Emily? Will he chase after her, and most of all, will Emily be able to keep her secrets safe?
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.
After three secretive years of marriage, Eliana never met her enigmatic husband until she was served with divorce papers and learned of his extravagant pursuit of another. She snapped back to reality and secured a divorce. Thereafter, Eliana unveiled her various personas: an esteemed doctor, legendary secret agent, master hacker, celebrated designer, adept race car driver, and distinguished scientist. As her diverse talents became known, her ex-husband was consumed by remorse. Desperately, he pleaded, "Eliana, give me another chance! All my properties, even my life, are yours."
Kara Martin was known as Miss Perfect. She was a beauty with good personality and successful career. Unfortunately, her life changed at one night. She was accused of adultery, losing her job, and abandoned by her fiance. The arrogant man who slept with her did not want to take responsibility. He even threatened to kill her if they met again. What's worse, Kara was pregnant with twins and she chose to give birth to them. Four and a half years later, Kara returned to work at a large company. As the secretary, she would frequently face their notorious CEO. Kara thought it wouldn't be a problem, but as it turned out ... the CEO was the father of the twins!
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."