[Historical Romance] [Forced Possession] [Marriage Before Love] [Black on the Outside, Dark on the Inside] [Divine Physician] [Sickly, Powerful Minister] [Face-Slapping] [Court and Household Intrigue]
Sheng Ruyi took her sister's place as a bride, only to find herself marrying her mortal enemy, the man who had massacred her entire family: Rong Ce, the current Grand Protector of the Celestial Pivot.
Outsiders said that although Grand Protector Rong was handsome, he was ruthless and bloodthirsty. He suffered from a chronic illness that could never be cured, and whenever his madness struck, he recognized no one. On their wedding night, Sheng Ruyi sat on the bridal bed and came face to face with a blood-dripping Embroidered Spring Saber.
Everyone in the capital was betting on whether this delicate canary would last three days.
But no one knew that she had a secret talent for acupuncture with golden needles, and that she saw things more clearly than anyone. Facing the wary, probing look in Rong Ce's eyes, she kept all her sharp edges hidden. By day, she served him soothing honeydew; in secret, she used silver needles to draw out his poison. Before long, she'd lured him into needing her every night.
Rong Ce was wary of her. He tested her and kept her bound by rules, coldly warning her not to entertain the slightest delusion.
But whenever his poison flared and the pain cut to the bone, the minister who killed without blinking would lose control, bury his face against her neck, and rasp:
"Ruyi... don't go... rub my back..."
The bloodline of his enemy had, without his realizing it, become the treasure in the palm of his hand that he couldn't bear to let go.
After Sheng Ruyi used his immense power to clear her maternal family's name, she faked her death in a raging fire and escaped. The entire capital was thrown into chaos.
Rong Ce searched every inch of the capital like a madman. Even if he had to turn the whole realm upside down, he would drag the only antidote to his illness back to his side and lock her up tight in iron chains.
