One Piece: The Soul Purchasing Pirate - Chapter 344: seeds

The story is centred around a cute android who initially had a happy life with her master who dearly loved her. But she was then struck by a series of misfortunes and ended up in a robot-equivalent of concentration camp. Through experiencing and witnessing the sufferings towards herself as well as the people/robots around her, she eventually gained a better appreciation of life.

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

Just after retiring, Gu Xiyan was entangled by King Qin again.

King Qin looked down on Gu Xiyan, but he was greedy for her body and planned to take her as a concubine.

Gu Xiyan had a smile on her face, MMP in her heart. Becoming a concubine to an ex? It’s a joke, isn’t it good to make money?

I don’t want the peach blossoms to bloom, the second son of Yongcheng Hou and the third son of Qi Anbo all fall in love with her.

Zhou Mu, with [long legs], [buttocks] and [unbelievable appearance], was even more simple and rude, and went straight to the door to ask for marriage.

*

On the day Qin Wang got married, Gu Xiyan also got married in a grand manner.

On this day, there were not a lot of guests in Prince Qin’s Mansion, all the dignitaries in the city went to Zhou Mansion for a wedding, and the emperor condescended to officiate the wedding ceremony for Zhou Mu and Gu Xiyan.

Everyone knows that Zhou Mu is the emperor’s eldest son raised among the people.

Later, Zhou Mu became the emperor, and Gu Xiyan became the queen just by lying flat.

*

Zhou Mu is a man of unrivaled beauty, unique in the world, attracting the hearts of all the girls in the city, but he doesn’t understand amorous feelings, what love is.

Gu Xiyan, who was reborn and returned, knew that Zhou Mu was a non-marriage advocate, and never dared to have unreasonable thoughts about him.

Unexpectedly, on the day when she met with the third son of Qi Anbo, the noble and self-respecting man suddenly went berserk in the street, dragged her into the carriage, and asked her to marry him with red eyes: “My girl’s reputation has been ruined by me, so she can only marry me!”

[Rebirth, Overhead, Double C, Sweet Pet]

- Description from novelbuddy

On their wedding night, she gnashed her teeth, yelling, “Your Highness, that’s shameless!”

Set off by the flickering light of red candles, he curved the corner of his mouth into a wicked grin, “Actually, I can be more shameless…”

…

When they met for the first time, he was the young prince who lived in his day of brilliance, while she was the pampered princess of the adjacent state.

When they met again, he became the crippled underdog suffering from frustration, while she became the lackluster hostage stranded in an alien land.

In his mid-life, he was defeated in the fight and had his legs broken; his wife passed away and he didn’t have anything left except his father’s detestation… After constant blows took the edge off his spirit, all he wanted was nothing but serenity.

In her teen-age, her state perished and her home lost; she lapsed into an awkward situation after being abandoned and having her marriage annulled… As endless hardships isolated her from happiness, everything she wished for was no more than peace.

…

“Lu Zhishan, when I first met you, I didn’t think I’d marry you…too old,” after years passed by, one day, she lay on his laps mumbling, with a kind of hazy beauty on her boozy face, “and lame.”

“Mu Nanzhi, you have the wrong memory. At our first meeting, I’m neither old nor limp.”

“…When was that?”

“When people were celebrating your first birthday,” that man assumed all gentleness and joy crept on his eyes and brows, “On that day, you were ‘drawing lots’ in the rear hall. I also sneaked there to have a look. But, out of my expectation, you directly grabbed my true-love knot.”

…

How vivid the red love pea is embedded in the exquisitely carved dice,

Just as my feelings for you deep in my bones.

- Description from Novelupdates