Dying a miserable death in the cold palace as a dethroned empress, Shen Ninghua wakes up, finding herself still alive. Her second life starts anew from a scene years ago when she was a girl and survived a plot designed to kill her. Now a phoenix reborn, she realizes the people who hurt her most are actually her family and she vows to take revenge on all of them: ruthless ex-husband and emperor, callous father, crafty step mother, vicious sister, hypocritical grandmother.... She has made up her mind to be a revengeful and loveless monster, determined to depend on and trust no man. But why is this handsome, mysterious, and powerful Chu Junyi helping her all the time? Tap to explore the epic journey of revenge and romance in Shen Ninghua's thrilling second life.
The heavy rain kept pouring down, making a layer of veil on the entire imperial city. Shen Ninghua knelt on the ground and raised her head to look at the woman sitting on the throne of Fengyi Palace. And her eyes were cold as ice. "Shen Linghan, I really didn't expect you to be so impatient. I had handed over my power to Baili Jinze no sooner than he asked you to deal with me."
Someone had long advised her that emperors were ruthless, that she shouldn't trust Baili Jinze, and that she must keep the last trump card in her hand. Unfortunately, she wanted to offer her trust in exchange for his true love. She didn't expect that she was simply offering her heart for him to trample.
The woman smiled lightly, the hairpin on her head glowing. "Deal with you? Sister, you're kidding. You deserve everything that you get. His Majesty has instructed me that your crimes are enough for you to be sliced into pieces. However, you and I are sisters and considering that I had paid respects to you as Empress for so many years, I should beg his Majesty to spare your life."
Rain ran down from the top of her head, and her dark long hair scattered all over the ground. Shen Ninghua felt a bone-piercing chill. "My position as Empress is due to the contribution to the Great An Dynasty! I risked my life several times for the Emperor and accompanied him all the way. It's reasonable for his Majesty to grant me the title of Empress. After all these years, have I done anything that disappointed Baili Jinze? Have I done anything that betrayed the Great An Dynasty? What am I guilty of?"
"You think you are innocent? The entire Great An Dynasty knows that you've poisoned the Emperor's brothers, murdered the Emperor's sons, and framed cases against the imperial concubines. You've also ordered crafty officials to dominate the court! Haha, shame on you to think you are innocent. " With an elegant smile on her face, Shen Linghan looked down at Shen Ninghua, her eyes filled with joy.
Shen Ninghua gritted her teeth. "If I hadn't helped Baili Jinze get rid of his brothers, how could he have taken the throne? Those officials sent their daughters to the imperial Harem. If I hadn't gotten rid of them, how could peace have been maintained in the Harem?"
Baili Jinze had actually made her the culprit of everything... Back then, he had vowed to become her patron and protect her for the rest of her life. Just because of these promises, she didn't hesitate to dye her hands with blood, only to fulfill his ambition. The oath was still echoing in her ears, but his attitude had completely changed. Now she became the scapegoat of so many crimes, which were enough to make her forever doomed. If she really wanted to control the court, how could she hand over all the power to Baili Jinze?
"His Majesty is a man of great talent. It's the people's desire for him to sit on the throne. What does it have to do with a vicious woman like you? Sister, you take yourself too seriously. But speaking of that, there really is a fool who has been trying his best to refute these charges, and even went to find evidence to prove your innocence. Unfortunately... Tsk-tsk..." Shen Linghan's eyes curved, and her red lips were full of smiles.
"Yun Chuan... What did you do to Yun Chuan?" Shen Ninghua suddenly raised her head. She saved Yun Chuan in a disaster relief mission. Just because she gave him a good meal, he followed her back to the capital and remained loyal to her, risking his life to protect her many times.
"No big fuss. I had meant to do him a favor and let him die without pain, but it was a pity that he was so disobedient. He said that even if he had no hands, feet, and teeth, as long as he had a breath, he would definitely seek justice for his sister. I was so touched by his words that I cut off his hands and feet and pulled out his eyes, ears, nose, tongue and teeth. I would like to see if he could help you this time with that breath I gave him."
Shen Ninghua's body trembled, and her eyes expressed her wish for nothing other than to slice Shen Linghan to pieces. She shrilled, "Yun Chuan has always been pure-hearted. He is only a sixteen-year-old boy. He not only saved my life in the war, but also saved Baili Jinze's life. When Baili encountered an assassination in Shang Prefecture, Yun Chuan got thirteen knife cuts but he still carried Baili on his back and managed to escape. If it hadn't for him, how could Baili Jinze be still alive? How could you hurt him like this?"
"My sister, being able to die to protect the Emperor is naturally an honor for that silly kid. He should be happy even if he died. Why wouldn't I hurt him? I am the kindest person. For fear that he will die alone, I let your good maids, Si Qin and Si Qi accompany him. They all followed you all the way. I would never leave the two of them behind. These two girls are really tough. I have tried all sorts of ways but failed to make them say anything against you."
Shen Ninghua suddenly stood up and threw herself at Shen Linghan without the slightest hesitation. However, the guard kicked her in the chest and she spat out a mouthful of blood instantly. She growled,
"Shen Linghan, Si Qin is married. She's pregnant. She's going to have a baby in two months. How dare you torture her? You're a venomous woman. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"
"Retribution? Funny! There is no such thing. Even if there is, sister, you can't see it. I'm telling you, that girl Si Qin watched as the baby was aborted out of her belly and still refused to sign the confession. So, after I asked someone to get rid of her baby, I cut off her hand and pressed it on the confession."
Shen Ninghua's face was pale as she bit her lips tightly. Her heart was already scarred. She raised her head and stared at Shen Linghan. She wanted to engrave her in her heart. Even if she had turned into a vengeful spirit, she would come to take her life!
However, Shen Linghan was enraged by her gaze. She suddenly stood up, ignored the rain, walked up to Shen Ninghua, and slapped her on the face with her heart filled with hatred. "Why are you looking at me like that, bitch? I tell you, from today, I will be the master of the Fengyi Palace and the Empress of the Great An Dynasty. You will never win!"
She hated the look in Shen Ninghua's eyes the most because they seemed calm and indifferent at any time. Even if she was trampled into the mud like this now, that calm look in her eyes did not change a bit.
"Shen Linghan, if there is no retribution from Heaven, I'll personally give you a taste of retribution."
Shen Linghan slammed the bright yellow imperial edict on Shen Ninghua's face and said coldly, "Then we'll have to wait to see if you can survive. Here is the Imperial decree. Shen Ninghua plotted against the Emperor's offspring and gossiped about affairs of the imperial state. She is immediately deprived of the title of Empress and put into the Cold Palace. By the way, in order to allow her to think about her sins, let her lie on the bed tamely. Don't kill her."
Heavy rain filled the sky over the palace. Shen Ninghua listened to the noise outside the window, and her hollow eyes gleamed with a trace of light. She had lived in the Cold Palace for almost ten years, and because of one sentence of Shen Linghan, all her bones were shattered. Her body was weak and limp like mud and she was thrown into bed. Every day, she was treated like a beast and fed with rancid food.
Nevertheless, she still wanted to live and see if Heaven could see her misery and make Shen Linghan and Baili Jinze suffer! Unfortunately, Heaven hasn't opened his eyes.
In the sound of the rain, she heard footsteps gradually coming.
"Shen, today the new Emperor has ascended to the throne. The Empress dowager is so kind that she gave you some good stuff. If it wasn't for the Empress's mercy of not seeing blood on the big day, your life wouldn't be worth the money of this medicine at all. Don't forget to kowtow and thank Her Majesty when you get to the Underworld."
Her tongue had been cut off, and she couldn't say anything. She stared at the smiling imperial maid with her eyes wide open. The imperial maid took a small bottle and poured the liquid on her body.
Heart-wrenching pain spread out from her legs, causing Shen Ninghua's entire body to twitch, and the veins on her neck popped out prominently.
"Haha, this is corpse-melting water. The Empress dowager said that your body would contaminate the place if you were to be thrown into a mass grave. She didn't want you to spoil the stomach of livestock in the wild. So she let you die in a clean way. The Ex-Emperor had also given an oral decree that it was a great misfortune for the Great An Dynasty to have you, a base-born person, as its Empress. You can't be buried in the royal mausoleum. After you turn into ashes, you will be thrown into the livestock shed. Even in your next life you won't have a good fate. That's what you deserve!"
Shen Ninghua's eyes bulged as she recalled the scene of Baili Jinze dressed in an imperial robe in front of the Fengyi Palace, gently hugging Shen Linghan. Blood dripped from her heart.
She hated them! She hated them so much! Baili Jinze, Shen Linghan, if there is a future life, I, Shen Ninghua, will surely have you destroyed and smashed to pieces. You must repay blood with blood!
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
She thought she was the love of his life, and he became the love of her life that fateful day she had seen him at the pack's party. Selene Grace was only a replica of Alpha Leo's real mate, and when he spotted her, Leo immediately claimed her as his Luna in order to suppress the rumors of him being mateless. Being unable to conceive turns Selene's marriage into a nightmare, and as if that wasn't enough, Alpha Leo finally reunites with his long time lover and mate, rejecting a pregnant Selene as a result. 5 years later, Selene, a now successful doctor, receives an invitation to the moon shadow pack in order to rid the pack of a deadly disease which has struck it. Will Selene return back to the pack which had caused her so much pain, and what would she do when she realizes that she is mated to the Alpha who had betrayed her in the past?
COALESCENCE OF THE FIVE SERIES BOOK ONE: THE 5-TIME REJECTED GAMMA & THE LYCAN KING BOOK TWO: THE ROGUES WHO WENT ROGUE BOOK THREE: THE INDOMITABLE HUNTRESS & THE HARDENED DUKE *** BOOK ONE: After being rejected by 5 mates, Gamma Lucianne pleaded with the Moon Goddess to spare her from any further mate-bonds. To her dismay, she is being bonded for the sixth time. What’s worse is that her sixth-chance mate is the most powerful creature ruling over all werewolves and Lycans - the Lycan King himself. She is certain, dead certain, that a rejection would come sooner or later, though she hopes for it to be sooner. King Alexandar was ecstatic to meet his bonded mate, and couldn’t thank their Goddess enough for gifting him someone so perfect. However, he soon realizes that this gift is reluctant to accept him, and more than willing to sever their bond. He tries to connect with her but she seems so far away. He is desperate to get intimate with her but she seems reluctant to open up to him. He tries to tell her that he is willing to commit to her for the rest of his life but she doesn’t seem to believe him. He is pleading for a chance: a chance to get to know her; a chance to show her that he’s different; and a chance to love her. But when not-so-subtle crushes, jealous suitors, self-entitled Queen-wannabes, an old flame, a silent protector and a past wedding engagement threaten to jeopardize their relationship, will Lucianne and Xandar still choose to be together? Is their love strong enough to overcome everything and everyone? Or will Lucianne resort to enduring a sixth rejection from the one person she thought she could entrust her heart with?
Madison had always believed that she would marry Colten. She spent her youth admiring him from afar, dreaming of their future life together. But Colten was always indifferent to her, and when he abandoned her at a time when she needed him most, she finally realized that he never loved her. With renewed resolve and a thirst for revenge, Madison left. Endless possibilities lay ahead, but Colten was no longer part of her plans. Colten rushed to her place in a panic. "Madison, please come back to me. I’ll give you everything!" It was his powerful uncle who answered the door. "She's my woman now."
My name is Katia, and I am just trying to survive until my fated mate arrives. Which may be easier said than done. Rejectection is the last straw. Whispering my acceptance of his rejection. I run through the pack house, out across the manicured lawn into the forest. "I'm sorry, my sweet girl," I say to my wolf. I'm sorry you have been stuck with me and have had to suffer everything I have. She whispers," it's not your fault, Katia. We came to a cliff with a waterfall. The hurt keeps pounding at me. I need it to stop. My sweet girl, and I just want peace, I keep running and leap off the cliff. Spreading my arms wide, with tears streaming down my face, I fall, not making a sound, waiting for sweet oblivion where we feel nothing ever again. "I love you, my sweet girl! Until we meet again, "My wolf replied just before we hit the water, "I love you too, Katia. I have never regretted a moment with you." The Snow Moon pack is having their last barbecue of the summer next to the waterfall on their land. The adults are laughing and joking while watching the pups play. The alpha, beta, and gamma are swimming with some of the older children and playing a game of Marco Polo. Someone yells, "Oh my goddess, someone just jumped over the waterfall!" Everyone is frozen as they watch what looks to be a child falling arms spread wide, no one makes a sound. The small body hits the water like a plane crashing into the side of a mountain. The alpha, beta, and gamma, spring into action, swimming towards the area the person went under. The alpha is screaming his wolf is going crazy repeating, "Find her. Find her...find her!" They dive and the beta surfaces with a small person in his arms. Alpha takes the girl from his beta, laying her on the ground. The men are shocked by what they see. She is covered in scars and injuries. Her body is twisted and broken. The Beta asks, "Who could have done this to someone so defenseless?" Alpha drops to his knees, repeating, "MATE...MATE...MATE!"
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ This Book Contains Matured Contents, reader's discretion is advised. *** "Do you have any idea how much I want to be inside you right now?" he asked as he stood to his feet. "Then why aren't you?" I responded, loving the feel of him pressed so close, my back to the mirror, my front to him. But even still, in some far corner of my lust-fogged mind, I realized that we were still in a bathroom. Anyone could walk in and see us. The thought of getting discovered was scary and erotic at the same time. "Oh, we're not done. Spread your legs a bit for me, Kitten." He commanded. When I did as he instructed, he settled between my legs again. "Now close your eyes. And try not to move." Dominic Rutherford murmured. I drew in a sharp breath as his fingers slipped into me with a silky, wet ease. First one. Then another. A feverish tide rose inside me, and I groaned. I jerked in response, causing me to unconsciously move my hips towards his teasing, clever hand, seeking more. "Ohh-" My body trembled under his touch. "Please..." *** Ruby escapes a stifling marriage filled with betrayal, eager to reclaim her freedom. At a masquerade ball, she meets Dominic, a mysterious older man always wearing a mask and has a complex past. Their intense attraction ignites a passionate and dangerous affair. Dominic, who was tasked by Ruby's unknown brother to find her, is captivated by her defiant spirit. As Ruby gets entangled in Dominic's dark world and faces threats from her vengeful former husband and an enemy within, she struggles with her fear of love. Will Ruby and Dominic overcome their pasts and the secrets that threaten to tear them apart? Can Ruby submit to love even after the truth is revealed?