ShuiShu

Meili is a once-in-a-generation beauty raised in secrecy in the inner courtyards. To keep her safe from the palace concubine selections, her family conspires to make everyone, including her, believe that she's ugly. The secret's revealed when 3 peeping Tom’s get more than they bargained for spying on the 'ugly sister' bathing.
The perverts are best friends, a young commander, the second prince, and an admired poet, and the 3 young men compete fiercely for her affections. As Meili emerges from 16 years in seclusion, her deeply rooted body dysmorphia has hilarious consequences as she misreads her interactions with men and proves to be a far more complex puzzle to woo than any of them are equipped for.
A cdrama romcom where a young girl is a glittering prize trying her hardest not to be won.
[#teen #lovequadrangle #historicalromance #romcom #cdrama #sweetromance] 
EXTRACT: Meili slipped out of her robe and sat on a ledge in the warm pool. Her long black hair cascaded down her back, tiny silver bells tinkled as she moved.
It felt wonderful to be free of her chest binding. It was starting to get quite painful. She didn't dare stop wearing it in case it encouraged her already disconcertingly large breasts to keep expanding.
It was onto this scene that the Commander, the Prince and the poet happened, as they soundlessly raised their heads above the peaked roofline. For a full minute not one of them moved or breathed.
Her long hair covered her generous curves, allowing tantalising glimpses. She reached behind her neck to push back her hair.
Commander Bai, realising what was about to happen, clamped each of his hands firmly over the eyes of the Prince and Tan Bowen. A fight broke out on the ridge-line as the men clawed and scratched in a panicked attempt to see what came next.
Meili looked up in fright, just as the commander forcefully pushed his two friends, sliding them down the steep rooftop.
For just a split second, the eyes of Commander Bai and Meili met.

Sharing a Pavilion With You

Manni was dispatched to fetch Meili's guqin. She quickly returned, laying it out in the centre of the seated guests.

Meili handed Manni her veil and sat down at the guqin beside Tan Bowen with his pipa.

The Emperor and most of the audience, had not yet seen her face. When she removed her veil, a ripple went through the audience. Audible comments passed to-and-fro between neighbours.

Tan Bowen silenced them by leading off beautifully on the pipa, and Meili joined the expressive song. He had chosen the song for her. It expressed the sadness and nostalgia one of the four famous beauties, Wang Zhaojun, had for her homeland, having been married to a frontier prince to bring peace to the empire.

Tan Bowen had heard her play this piece before, and, like her dancing, she was an incredibly expressive performer. And of course, it didn't hurt that she looked the part too.

Tiger Roaring and Dragon Howling