The Shadow Guard Wept After I Became His Mad Master

On the first day after transmigrating, Shen Mingshu nearly beat her own shadow guard to death.

In the torture chamber, the man hung from a frame, covered in blood, and didn't even groan.

Everyone waited for the notorious madwoman of the capital, the legitimate daughter of a noble family, to order them to “beat him to death.”

Instead, she said only, “Take him down. Find a doctor.”

The entire room fell silent.

Only Zero knew this wasn't compassion. It was a new kind of torment.

But when he was made to kneel in the snow, she brought him ginger soup in the middle of the night.

When he took twenty lashes, she applied medicine to his wounds with red-rimmed eyes.

When he secretly investigated his origins, she confined him to his room, but slipped him a blanket and wound medicine.

Zero was baffled.

His old master used to beat him half to death, and he had never been afraid.

His new master punished him just as harshly, yet... the more she punished him, the more loyal he became.

Until, at a palace banquet, he was accused of being a surviving member of the Gu clan, and the officials clamored for his death.

The woman who was always acting crazy stepped in front of him.

“Anyone who touches my people will answer to me.”

“He made a mistake, so I'll punish him myself. It's not for outsiders to meddle.”

Zero's eyes reddened.

So that was it. Every time she'd punished him, she'd been protecting him all along.

**Content warnings:**

1. The female lead is tough-talking but soft-hearted. Her madwoman persona is a protective mask.

2. The male lead is loyal to the bone, and every punishment only makes him love her more.

3. Punishment is the facade; protectiveness is at the heart of it. Expect a mix of sweetness and angst.

4. One-on-one romance, both leads are virgins, happy ending, master and servant become husband and wife.