[Enemies-to-loyal-dog + a rotten man’s sincerity + forced love + charming, handsome, tragic straight male lead + star-crossed love]
An aloof, proud beauty VS a defiant, obsessive puppy of a loyal dog and a sinister, mad emperor with power over the court
The rites and rules of society are cruel. Bound by duty, expectations, and righteousness, Xu Zhihe and the emperor can barely stand one another.
Admiration, testing, suspicion, wariness, trust, rivalry, sincerity, scheming, coercion, gratitude, jealousy, compassion, regret: countless feelings intertwine, their boundaries impossible to discern.
Their love is tangled with hatred and obsession, but in the end, they are not lovers sharing a bed. They are only ruler and subject.
Xu Zhihe spends his life consumed by hatred and dies in misery.
Reborn into the days of his youth, when he first entered the Eastern Palace, Xu Zhihe wants only to stay alive in peace and protect his younger sister.
He deliberately conceals his abilities, often feigning illness and weakness, doing everything he can to keep a low profile. He wants nothing more than to live quietly, a person of no consequence, and never repeat the mistakes of his past.
Unfortunately, the Crown Prince, gentle and kind in public, is obsessive by nature and unfathomably calculating.
He has already seen through every one of Xu Zhihe’s disguises. He exploits his weakness and uses tenderness as a shackle, closing in step by step with the intent of imprisoning him for life.
The young general who was at odds with him in his previous life is also acting like a completely different person.
Proud and defiant, he is willing to bend and yield for Xu Zhihe alone. Could the general have been reborn too?
A deadly plot at the water’s edge, bone-corroding poisoned wine, and confinement in the imperial palace follow one after another.
Xu Zhihe only wants to keep a low profile and stay out of the world’s affairs, but the Duke and his son strongly recommend him, making him famous throughout the capital and exposing every last one of his long-maintained disguises.
In his previous life, he gave his whole heart and was left battered, with no one to pity him.
In this life, he shuts off his heart to survive, yet gets caught in their obsessive adoration and can’t escape.
The palace confines his body; their obsession binds his heart.
In this unsolvable game of strategy, can he break free and leave for good?
Not bad, okay