Historical romance / both leads are inexperienced / unrequited love / she pursues him / fake eunuch
Everyone in the palace knew that Shen Yuan, the Eastern Depot's ruthless chief, was a mad dog who killed without blinking. Yet in front of Princess Yongle, he did not even dare raise his head.
Everyone knew the princess loved him. She had taken a cup of poisoned wine for him, knelt before the Empress Dowager for him, and paved his road to becoming a powerful eunuch.
But after pursuing him for so many years, all he ever said was, “This subject would not dare.”
She thought he was simply insecure, until the day she barged into the bathing chamber and stumbled upon his greatest secret.
It turned out he wasn't afraid. He was daring enough to hide beside her for all those years, bearing the crime of deceiving the emperor. Daring enough to shield her from every open and hidden attack with his own flesh and blood. Daring enough to call her name in his dreams, then say nothing about it when he woke.
Furious, she flung her handkerchief in his face. “Shen Yuan, you deceived me for all these years. Your punishment is to never leave my side for the rest of your life.”
But the court was rife with intrigue, and the inner palace seethed with undercurrents. His father's wrongful conviction, Consort Li's deadly schemes, and the relentless pursuit of the hidden mastermind known as “Qing” were all driving them toward an unknown abyss.
He risked everything to give her a legitimate future, but she set her wedding dress before him. “I don't care about titles or status. I only want you to answer one thing: do you want me?”
At last, he knelt in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and, as the descendant of a loyal martyr, asked for the hand of the woman he had loved for sixteen years.
The entire court listened. His voice was quiet, yet it made the golden bricks hum. “I, Shen Yuan, ask to marry Princess Yongle, Zhao Wanyan. For all my life, I will never betray her.”
Standing beside him, she smiled through red-rimmed eyes. “I do.”
