The Crown Prince Is Heartless? I Went to Your Father, So Why Are You Crying?

[The leads are both morally gray, not a pure-love romance. Later, the heroine is the hero's only love, followed by his regretful pursuit. She won't turn back. Age gap; the old flame reignites; the powerful man falls from his pedestal and humbly begs for love.

The heroine will do whatever it takes to achieve her goals, using every possible tactic to win over the hero. She only cares about reaching the top. The hero starts out as a cold emperor but becomes love-struck after she wins him over.]

Xie Ying's mother was born into a family that trained women as courtesans. Xie Ying was raised the same way from childhood, with the intention of presenting her as a gift to bring the family profit once she came of age.

The Crown Prince fell for her and swore they would be together forever.

On the day she came of age, the Crown Prince brought her into the palace. Xie Ying was full of joy, thinking he would finally keep his promise and take her into the Eastern Palace so they could spend their lives together.

Who could have guessed she would overhear him and his mother plotting to send her to a perverted marquis in his seventies?

“She was just a plaything.”

Hearing it all from outside the room, Xie Ying felt as if she'd fallen into an icy abyss. She made her decision on the spot:

The Crown Prince was heartless, so she would turn to his father instead.

With a breathtaking dance, she caught the emperor's eye. That very night, she became his consort and a member of the imperial harem.

She schemed at every turn, layering one ploy atop another as she set out to win the emperor's heart.

She would secure her livelihood, her status, and the emperor's favor…

She would climb to the very top, trampling everyone who had once bullied, humiliated, and hurt her beneath her feet, and smile as she watched them cry.

In this life, all she wanted was wealth and prestige, to stand above everyone else. She wanted no genuine affection.

Who could have known…

Years later, the Crown Prince, long since deposed, would grovel at her feet, gazing up at her in all her glory and sobbing uncontrollably:

“Yingying, I was wrong.

I regret it so much!”

The usually cold emperor lost control and pulled her forcefully into his arms, his eyes reddening.

“I love you so much. Can't you love me too?

Even just a little.”