Behavioral analyst Shen Zhiwei transmigrates into a palace-intrigue novel, becoming a doomed side consort destined to be given poisoned wine.
On their wedding night, the cold and ruthless Crown Prince Xiao Jin looks down at her and warns, “Know your place, or I won't spare you.”
She values her life and keeps a clear head, with no desire to compete for his favor.
An expert at reading people, she focuses on winning hearts and minds. He despises spoiled, arrogant women, so she acts sensible and considerate, never vying for attention, gradually dispelling his prejudice. When the Crown Princess attacks her openly and covertly, she turns the tables every time and still earns a reputation for virtue. As the struggle for the throne grows ever more treacherous, she plots in secret, turning the Eastern Palace and even the imperial court into her chessboard.
Xiao Jin is merely the most important piece in her plan to ascend to the empress's throne.
His initial contempt and loathing gradually give way to curiosity and admiration, until at last he falls for her completely.
The ruthless heir who once swore, “I will love only the Crown Princess for the rest of my life,” breaks every principle for her. He protects her, favors her, and offers her the throne and all the love in his heart.
Until one day, he hears her remove her makeup and say with a faint smile to her maid, “His Highness has fallen for me. The throne is secure.”
All that tenderness shatters in an instant.
Xiao Jin pins her against the wall, his eyes bloodshot and his knuckles clenched white.
He doesn't hate her for scheming her way to power, for feigning affection, or even for deceiving him for so long.
There is only one thing he hates.
“Shen Zhiwei, after all this time, did you never have even the slightest genuine feeling for me?”
She looks up, her expression calm and unreadable. “Your Highness, we were simply using each other.”
He bends down and kisses her with fierce, obsessive intensity. “Shen Zhiwei, I permit you to seek power and scheme as you please.” He kisses her again, staking everything on his obsession. “But you have to love me.”
