Moonlit Terrace, Spring Tides Carry Him Across

[Palace intrigue and a rise to power] [A scheming beauty] [An emperor who pursues her heart]

The day her wedding dress arrived, Shen Zhaohua learned that the woman who had been promised the position of principal wife for two years had become a favored concubine instead.

Her father urged her to be sensible, her fiancé promised he would still dote on her, and her stepmother even made arrangements for the shops her mother had left behind.

She smiled as she accepted the gift list, then turned around and asked Prince Ning’s household to call off the engagement.

It happened to be time for the palace to select consorts.

If she had to go to the trouble of making someone like her, she might as well choose someone who could give her more.

The censor saw through her schemes. The heir of the marquis’s household wanted to offer her a secure life. The emperor asked, “What do you want from me? I can give you anything.”

At first, she answered meekly, asking only for a place at his side.

Later, she wanted her mother’s property back, she wanted to climb higher in rank, and she wanted his favor, too.

Xiao Che knew she wanted something from him, yet he still made exception after exception for her.

But when he had arranged everything for her, she returned his gifts.

“Your Majesty, you never asked whether I was willing.”

He thought that if he doted on her enough, he could keep her by his side.

This time, he would have to learn to listen to her first.