The Aloof Empress Consort Runs Away, and the Empress Panics

[Female-dominated world / mildly coercive / rekindled romance / groveling hero / unhinged / gender reversal / one-on-one romance / sweet indulgence]

An unconventional female-dominated-world story!! Contains original worldbuilding!

Obsessive, cruel, domineering empress × cool, fragile, beautiful empress consort

(Xiao Yan × Shen Qingxian)

*

Xiao Yan, Empress of Dayin, encountered Shen Qingxian playing the zither during a trip south of the Yangtze River.

He was the very image of a jade-like gentleman, peerlessly handsome.

After seeing him just once, Xiao Yan forcibly took him back to the capital, married him, and confined him in the palace.

From then on, those hands that could play the zither could only wrap around the empress’s waist, as he spent night after night in her bed.

*

Xiao Yan didn’t know how to love. She was domineering, autocratic, and cruel. Though she doted on him in every way, she forcibly kept him by her side and forbade him from leaving the palace. The broken golden chain, together with her unpredictable temper, drove a deep wedge between her and the empress consort.

At first, Shen Qingxian fell for her gentleness, despite her excessive possessiveness. But later, he realized that their relationship was riddled with conflict. His wife’s temper could turn violent at times, leaving him frightened and heartbroken.

Perhaps they both needed time to calm down and think carefully about their feelings for each other.

*

After one final quarrel, Xiao Yan angrily led her troops into battle, leaving him behind in the capital.

Who could have foreseen that the Cui clan would rebel, forcing Shen Qingxian to flee the palace?

One moment of anger on her part cost them a year apart.

*

Shen Qingxian returned to the south of the Yangtze River.

He played the zither every day and spent a quiet, peaceful year.

Xiao Yan had found him long ago, but could only watch him from afar.

*

Then news reached the capital that the empress was gravely ill, and Shen Qingxian’s zither string snapped.

On a white horse, he raced toward the capital through the night...