Xu Fushu, heir to the Duke of Rong's estate, was to Xue Zhi a nobleman as far out of reach as the moon in the sky.
Xue Zhi was poor and unremarkable. She had never imagined there would be any connection between them.
Then, on a rain-soaked night, she lit an oil lamp and saw the man who had been so refined and aloof only moments earlier push open her courtyard gate. His long hair was as dark as ink, and his exposed skin was as smooth as the finest mutton-fat jade. His cheeks were flushed as he collapsed beneath her leaky eaves, his dark eyes glistening with alluring moisture. Just one look was enough to set her heart racing.
Xue Zhi should have gone to the authorities and sent him away. She could even have earned a handsome reward.
But she bit her lip, hesitating, as dark, damp thoughts churned in her heart.
She wanted to keep him captive.
To lock him in a dark, lightless room and cover his eyes as she took what she wanted, even if he wasn't willing.
Those days were blissful, but bliss never lasts. The old madam of the Duke of Rong's estate came to find her, clasped her hands, and wept as though her heart were breaking.
Only then did Xue Zhi learn that she was the duke's legitimate daughter, lost to the family years ago. She twisted her handkerchief and lowered her eyes, weeping without end.
Thinking back on all those nights of surrender, Xue Zhi regretted it.
The man she'd locked to the bed was actually her elder brother.
.
Life as a young lady was more comfortable than before. Apart from sleeping poorly at night and waking up with a strange, tingling sensation in her body, Xue Zhi had nothing to complain about.
Whenever she happened to run into Xu Fushu, his gentle, smiling eyes always made her feel a little guilty.
But her guilt didn't last long. The Minister of Rites' son came to propose marriage. He wasn't as breathtakingly beautiful as Xu Fushu, but he was still a handsome, accomplished man.
Xue Zhi was no longer young and had reached the age to discuss marriage, so she gladly accepted and happily looked forward to her wedding.
On her wedding day.
Xue Zhi sat demurely among layers of gauzy curtains, her lips pressed together. The glow of the burning red candles made her face as lovely as an apricot blossom and peach petals.
The wooden door hung with a beaded curtain opened. A familiar, warm fragrance drifted in on the wind, the very scent she had breathed in night after night.
A long-fingered hand lifted her crimson veil. The young man's cool, beautiful face drew near. Her heart stopped for a beat, and she instinctively looked up.
All the feigned tenderness vanished from Xu Fushu's eyes, replaced by a terrifying, clinging desire.
He bent down and picked up the trembling Xue Zhi. Ignoring the fear on her face, he spoke in a wounded, tender voice:
"Xue Zhi, how could you marry him? You once said you would only ever love me... didn't you?"
.
To Xu Fushu, Chu Xue Zhi was nothing but a liar who had taken advantage of him when he was vulnerable. She covered his eyes and showered him with sweet words, saying she loved him when all she really wanted was to have him. She used the most degrading methods to humiliate him.
At first, he felt humiliated and disgusted, and vowed to kill her one day.
Later, a secret hope began to grow in his heart. He longed for night to fall, until the day she finally unlocked the iron chain around his wrist.
She left just as he seemed to have fallen in love with her.
But it didn't matter.
Xu Fushu thought as he stepped out of the damp room.
He would find her and return to their home. He would use that iron chain to bind her wrist and pin her against the resting couch.
He would tell her just how much he loved her.
[Reading Guide]
1. Both leads are each other's first and only, happy ending.
2. A heroine whose dark side erupts × a genuinely twisted hero with a hidden dark side.
3. They are not biological siblings. There is more to the family reunion than meets the eye.
4. Blurb saved on 2026.4.7.
Theme: Ordinary people have dreams too.
