【Female-oriented rebirth + fated entanglement + unrequited love gone awry + misunderstandings on both sides + coercion】
Lu Zhaozhao is reborn a year in the past. To protect her family, she agrees to take her elder sister's place and marry the upright young vice minister of the Court of Justice in the capital. She refuses to be the lovesick fool whose heart belonged only to Xiao Yu ever again.
A marriage in name only sounds perfect: they can stay out of each other's way, and she can avoid the deadly fate that befell her in her previous life.
She tosses the birthday gift she once gave Xiao Yu into the brazier, takes detours to avoid him, and obediently plays the part of someone else's fiancée.
But Xiao Yu, the crown prince's tutor, has always been proper and reserved, claiming he already has a “beloved moonlight in his heart.” Now, though, his behavior is growing stranger by the day.
He berates himself, restraining his feelings with the rule that “a friend's wife is off-limits,” even as he weaves a web that cuts off every escape route she has.
Beneath the palace walls, the once lofty, abstinent and aloof minister clutches her in his arms, eyes reddened. His voice is hoarse and possessive: “Zhaozhao, you can lie to me if you want, but I’m the only one you can marry.”
