Princess Yueshu never imagined that Xiao Heng, her childhood sweetheart and fiancé, who had once promised to stay by her side year after year, would change his heart and fall in love with her elder sister, the Crown Princess.
Xiao Heng placed first in the imperial examinations at sixteen. He was as pure and aloof as a solitary orchid atop a cold mountain peak. Now he wielded power at the very heart of government, and everyone both respected and feared him.
Yueshu had only ever hoped to spend her life with him, never involving herself in courtly power struggles. But now she couldn't accept it. She decided to compete with her elder sister.
Yet before she could even begin, Xiao Shuo, the mad dog at her sister's side, crushed her momentum completely.
Xiao Shuo was Xiao Heng's elder brother. He had pacified Longxi in his youth and been appointed a great general. After returning to the capital, he actually volunteered to become the Crown Princess's dog, clearing out all her political enemies in just a few days.
Yueshu hated the brothers with all her heart.
When Xiao Shuo backed her into a corner, she angrily had him tied up.
He valued the Crown Princess above all else, so Yueshu would make him become entangled with her. She would make him suffer and make the Crown Princess despise him.
Seeing Xiao Shuo bound hand and foot, his face full of humiliation and helplessness, gave her immense satisfaction. At last, she had won one round.
Only after the deed was done did she remember how terrifying Xiao Shuo was. He had never relied on his family's influence. He had fought his way up from the very bottom, blade by blade, and crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. His methods and cunning were beyond ordinary people.
The next time they met, Xiao Shuo forced Yueshu back against a wall, step by step. The cold edge of his blade slowly traced her neck. But instead of what she expected, he leaned down and kissed her fiercely.
*
Xiao Heng was secretly ordered to investigate a major case, but Yueshu mistakenly thought he had fallen out of love with her.
When he accidentally spotted the red marks on her neck, then heard his elder brother cling to her and say he was willing to be her secret lover, Xiao Heng wanted nothing more than to kill his good-for-nothing brother.
He and Yueshu were betrothed by imperial decree. Their love had begun when they were young, and everyone in the realm knew it. What right did his brother have to become her secret lover? And how could he truly be content with such a role? Clearly, he had plotted step by step to claim her for himself.
Xiao Heng would never allow it.
Synopsis saved on January 26, 2026.
Theme: Stay true to your heart.
