My Cousin Acts Spoiled and Arrogant, and Says Hitting Me Is Her Way of Loving Me

Palace intrigue + not-quite cousins + mutual scheming + intense push and pull + doted on exclusively + devoted to each other

After her elder sister died, Feng Shuyi entered the palace to take her place as Noble Consort. She wouldn't have to bear a child, and she'd get an adorable little girl for free.

Holding the imperial decree, Feng Shuyi nearly burst into a honking laugh.

The harem was a place of open and covert power struggles, where countless people met their end without a sound.

But Feng Shuyi was spoiled and headstrong, and wouldn't put up with the slightest unfairness.

A noble concubine got mouthy? She slapped her on the spot. A Jieyu caused trouble? She wrecked her flower-viewing banquet. The Four Consorts tried to wield the rules against her? She flipped the table right in front of them, turning the entire harem upside down.

Feng Shuyi wasn't the least bit afraid.

She was the Emperor's legitimate cousin. At worst, she could go back to the Feng family. Whoever wanted to be Noble Consort could have the job.

But then the Emperor himself stepped in. He demoted them, sent them to the Cold Palace, had them beaten to death. No one who tried to pick a fight with her got away.

He also slipped into her chambers every night, warmed her feet, soothed her little fits of temper, and showered her with so many gifts that the storerooms couldn't hold them all.

Nestled in his arms, Feng Shuyi traced his abs, thinking happily:

Was my sister an idiot? Why run away instead of embracing such a perfect Emperor? What a waste!

*

Then one day, her memories returned:

What second daughter?

She was her sister all along!

Eloping, being imprisoned by the dog Emperor... It had all really happened.

She scooped up her daughter and fled through the window, only to be caught just as she reached the city gates.

Helian Chen had known all along that she belonged to him.

She was the girl he'd raised, soothing her as he held her little hand, the wife engraved into his very soul.

For anyone else to touch her was an unforgivable trespass.

She deserved to be cherished like royalty.

She didn't have to follow the harem's rules.

Whoever made her unhappy would be made unhappy by him.

When he learned she had someone else in her heart, he smiled warmly, though a sinister darkness stirred in his eyes:

“I've spoiled you all this time. It wasn't so you could end up with someone else.”

Headstrong, flirtatious cousin vs. possessive, scheming Emperor with a voracious appetite