The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire) - Chapter 258

He was once the most feared villain in the empire, a master of manipulation who wove chaos from the shadows. Ruthless, untouchable—until the day he was betrayed and executed by the very man he sought to control.But death is not the end.He awakens in the body of Lady Elara Valcrest, a fragile noble girl doomed to be a pawn in political games. Stripped of her former power, she is forced into an arranged marriage with none other than Cairon Everhart—the man who once killed her. He does not recognize her, but she knows him. And she will never forget.To survive, Elara must play a new game. One where deception is her only weapon, and trust is a dangerous illusion. She must outmaneuver her enemies, uncover the truth behind her execution, and reclaim the power she lost. But as she navigates the treacherous world of court intrigue, one question lingers—Was Cairon truly her greatest enemy? Or had she been blind to an even greater threat?Time is running out. The villain has been given one last chance. And this time, she refuses to lose.

Shen Yansheng always thought that she didn’t like Lu Jingce until one day she heard that a certain group boss intended to marry his daughter to Lu Jingce. She was so angry that she couldn’t eat anything that night and locked herself in the room after returning home. When Lu Jingce came back in the evening, he took the key from the study, opened the door and entered her bedroom. He sat beside the bed, leaned over and kissed her to wake her from her sleep. She looked at him angrily, but he smiled happily and asked, “Jealous?”

Shen Yansheng and Lu Jingce have been falling in love all the time, mainly because she hadn’t figured out how to explain their relationship to her parents, which caused her parents to always think she was single, so they took the initiative to trick her into going on a blind date. But someone happened to have a dinner in that restaurant that day, and saw her and her blind date sitting at a table for dinner from a distance. She felt a gaze looking at her from behind, and when she turned her head, she met someone’s handsome face that was half-smiling. That night, as soon as Shen Yansheng came home, she threw herself on someone, raised her hand and swore, “I can explain it!” Someone still had that half-smile and pinched her cheek, “The explanation is invalid.”

- Description from Novelupdates

To save the masses, Zhong Nianyao sacrifices herself to the heavens, thinking she would vanish into thin air. Surprisingly, when she opens her eyes again, she finds herself as the youngest daughter of the Zhong family in the imperial capital. In her previous life, as the national advisor of the Li Country, she spent her days in deep contemplation and eventually sacrificed herself for the people. Given a chance to relive her life, she decides to live freely and with ease. Zhong Nianyao, known in the capital as the infamous useless heiress who excels only in spending money, has been famously infatuated with the eldest young master of the Li family, Li Jingming. She even jumped into a river just on his saying. Later, to everyone's astonishment, Zhong Nianyao changed; she stopped chasing after Li Jingming and started setting up a stall on the overpass. People then said she must have gone mad. However, as time goes by—A real estate tycoon holds a black card, pleading for her to tell his fortune.A famous movie star clings desperately to her, crying for help.Even a renowned old artist brings his works to her, asking for feng shui advice.Zhong Nianyao didn't expect that just returning to her old profession would turn her into a master. She had always intended to keep a low profile! As she ponders this mystery, a man with a devilishly handsome face suddenly hugs her from behind, his deep voice filled with a seductive charm, 'My lady, when shall we start planning for a child?' Zhong Nianyao glances at the man and retorts with a single word— 'Scram—'(Sickly possessive lord VS Cunning heiress, pure love, those who like it, dive in!!)

The story begins as our female lead wakes up in a strange room and an unfamiliar body. She realizes that she has travelled back in time and her twenty-two year old spirit is now trapped in the body of a six year old girl. This girl child is the third daughter of Ning Guo’s Prime Minister Li and his seventh wife. Her name is Li Qing Luo and because her mother was originally from an entertainment house, Prime Minister Li and his other six wives treated them badly.

Her first day in that world, the whole family gathers to test the talent of the three daughters. Qing Lei, the eldest, is talented at playing the zither while Qing Fei’s calligraphy is incomparable. Everyone anticipates A’Luo’s failure as she had not exhibited any talent before, but that six year old child recites a famous Tang poem. The entire family is surprised that Qing Luo is able to write such a profound poem and her mother later tells her that Prime Minister Li is so harsh on his daughters because he needs to rely on them marrying well to secure his future. Qing Luo begins to study qin, qi, shu, hua (zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting) but hides her skill because she does not want to be sold in marriage to some prince or court official.

Six years later, A’Luo is now twelve and leaves the estate for the first time to participate at a flower viewing banquet. This is a special banquet because the Five Most Eligible Bachlors of Feng Cheng will be in attendance (there’s actually a more elegant name for them). These young men are: Crown Prince Liu Jian, Fourth Prince Liu Fei, the young An Qing Wang Liu Jue, the son of Prime Minister Gu Gu Tian Xiang, and the top scorer of the Imperial Examinations Cheng Si Yue. A’Luo sneaks off and almost falls into a river, but is saved by a handsome young man. Because he glanced at her bare legs a moment too long, A’Luo calls him a pervert, tries to push him into the river and runs off. The young man only laughs and vows to find her again.

- Description from Novelupdates