The Powerful Minister and the Cold Princess

[Contrasting Consort × Brilliant Minister]*Not a pampered wife, not a strong female lead; serious drama, court intrigue, mutual redemption*

Six years ago, Tan Yan was forced into the imperial palace. After years of lying flat, she ended up a cold consort in name only.

One day, she was abducted and taken outside the palace. The man who rescued her was a refined, handsome young minister of exceptional character.

What she didn’t know was that the woman she used to be had been the moonlight in this powerful minister’s heart, the one he’d fallen for at first sight and never forgotten.

As they hid together, their feelings gradually grew, and they struggled to keep them buried, caught in a constant push and pull between advancing and retreating. In just over a month, this man, usually so aloof and self-controlled, began to fall for her, step by step. When his hands slowly slipped beneath her clothes and she felt their hearts racing beyond control, she suddenly came to her senses.

There was far more than a thin layer of clothing between them.

She secretly swore that from then on, she’d only indulge in romance, never love.

But just a few days later, she opened the door and found him standing motionless in the vast curtain of rain. Water slid down his face, and his throat worked with effort as he spoke in a strained voice:

“I have to do this. I want you.”

And so they lost themselves in each other all night, forgetting that there was an emperor at all...

Yet the next morning, he quietly shut that forbidden door, a door the world would never accept, and vanished without a trace.

Several months later, she returned to the palace with composure.

He searched high and low until he found her. Long-suppressed longing surged in his eyes as he said, word by word, “You’re the only one I want.”

But she pushed him away. “You’re now a loyal servant at His Majesty’s side. How dare someone praised by everyone as a loyal minister covet the emperor’s consort!”

Several more months passed. In a hall strewn with corpses, he fell to one knee before her and slowly lifted her downcast face with a bloodied hand. His eyes reddened, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, drop by drop.

“I’m no longer a loyal minister. Will you come with me...?”

[Reader’s Guide]

1. Complete. The female lead isn’t a virgin, the male lead is; this isn’t a career-focused power fantasy, the female lead doesn’t suffer, and it has a happy ending.

2. A blend of romance and plot, with a somewhat slow start, sweet moments and angst.

Theme: Never forget your original aspirations