Captive to Your Heart

[Deranged former princess x madly devoted, possessive emperor | coercive romance | love and hate]

In the first year of Yongguang, Chu Yu, a princess of the former dynasty, was forcibly brought into the palace and made empress.

At the ceremony, she stared at the founding emperor who had destroyed her kingdom and murdered her brother. Word by word, she said, “Li Xiaohan! I will kill you! I will avenge my brother!”

Li Xiaohan only smiled. “Be my guest.”

Chu Yu tried to kill him several times, but each attempt failed. Instead, she was chained to the bed in her bedchamber and stripped of her freedom.

Li Xiaohan pointed to the corner of his mouth. “A Yu, kiss me. If you do, I'll set you free.”

Chu Yu: “In your dreams!”

-

Li Xiaohan, founding emperor and warlord of a turbulent age, needed only four years to quell the wars, ascend the throne, and usher in a golden age.

The first thing he did after taking the throne was marry Chu Yu, the woman he had long yearned for, and make her empress.

Her attempts to kill him were clumsy, but Li Xiaohan enjoyed them all the same, because they gave him an excuse to keep her by his side.

Until one day, he overheard Chu Yu speaking with another man: “My imperial brother was chronically ill and not long for this world, but if he'd died of natural causes, I could have accepted it.”

“But Li Xiaohan murdered my brother, destroyed my kingdom, and still expects me to set aside my hatred and bear him an heir to continue his dynasty. What a deluded, impossible dream!”

“Once I get the chance, I'll take his life, restore the Chu kingdom, and make sure no one can ever come between us again.”

Li Xiaohan scoffed and turned to give an order. “Go change the empress's ankle shackles to gold.”

He would make her see just how absurd and ridiculous her decision was.

2026.02.17, revised 2026.09.27 [screenshots saved]

Reading guide:

1. Both leads are each other's first and only partners. 1v1, HE. The heroine's memories are confused, and the male lead isn't responsible for what happened.

2. The story is tentatively based on Han history, but this may change later.

3. No content warnings, since those would be spoilers. No further explanation.

4. Historical fantasy, so please don't nitpick the history. Enjoy the story in peace. No need to tell me if you drop it, and be sure to read the author's note in the final chapter~

Theme: Don't judge what you don't fully understand.