[A patient princess sent away in a political marriage x a possessive, deranged new emperor]
When she was young, in the deep palace of the Qi kingdom, Qi Linyue once gave a bowl of hot soup to Xiao Jianling, a hostage prince from Great Qian, who was kneeling in the snow and suffering endless humiliation.
When her mother asked about it, she said indifferently, "Bao Hua only thought he was handsome just now. I don't like him anymore."
Then, without hesitation, she picked up a whip and lashed him, playing the role of a thoroughly wicked person.
She never expected that just a few years later, she would enter the imperial city of Great Qian as a tribute in a political marriage, and that the humble boy from the past would now be the new emperor on the golden throne.
In the golden hall, Qi Linyue's hand trembled as she accepted the royal investiture documents personally handed to her by Xiao Jianling. When her fingers touched his cold ones, she nearly dropped the imperial seal.
Qi Linyue was terrified of him, but she didn't want to die, so she could only let him take whatever he wanted from her.
But when her benefactor from years ago, Xie Zeyu, came to Great Qian on a diplomatic mission and asked Qi Linyue for medicine, she was willing to deceive Xiao Jianling and escape the palace to clear a path for him.
Only when this man she loved cast off his disguise and sent troops against the Qi kingdom did Qi Linyue's heart turn to ashes. She handed Xiao Jianling the wager she had lost.
After putting the endgame in order and taking full control of power, Xiao Jianling often stared at Qi Linyue's memorial tablet, looking like a withered ghost.
Until one day, in a waterside town in Jiangnan, he caught the woman who had come back from the dead...
[Bonus scene]
Deep in the palace, Xiao Jianling interrogated her: "Back then, you were willing to risk your life to help him escape. With me, it was all just using me, and in the end you faked your death and left without a word. Don't you owe me an explanation?"
"You are the only person I have ever wronged in this life, and the person I hate and love most. Beyond that, I have nothing to say."
[Extreme angst + coercive possession]
P.S.: The male and female leads are both sexually inexperienced. The heroine, hero, and second male lead are all bad people by conventional standards. The heroine fakes her death and escapes. The blurb contains a visual error; see the main text for details.
(2026.10)
Theme: With a heart like a qilin, live toward the sun.
