He Used Tenderness as Bait [Matriarchy]

Xiao Qingyan was born into the prestigious Xiao family. Powerful and breathtakingly beautiful, she was the notorious playgirl everyone in the capital knew about.

She roamed from one lover to the next, flirting and then disappearing. She was fickle and heartless, kept a constant stream of male companions, and never gave anyone her true feelings, much less considered marriage.

"In this life, I only play, never love. I take male companions, but never marry. No one can tie me down." That was what she always said.

Until she met Shen Jue.

Shen Jue was the youngest legitimate son of the General's household. Exquisitely handsome and tall and graceful, he was the dream man coveted by countless young noblewomen in the capital.

Yet he fell in love with Xiao Qingyan at first sight, his obsession taking root deep in his heart. He was determined to keep this promiscuous woman firmly in his grasp.

Knowing she only loved men who were gentle, obedient, and easy to control, he laid out an elaborate scheme.

He shed his air of nobility, stained his white robes with dust, and knelt on the main street, deliberately announcing that his father had died and his family had fallen into ruin. With tearful, pitiful eyes, he offered himself for sale to bury his father.

His broken, beautiful, helpless appearance happened to catch the eye of Xiao Qingyan as she passed by.

His face looked familiar to her, but she did not recognize him. She simply thought she'd found a breathtaking plaything.

"You look just my type. Get up. I'm buying you."

Shen Jue lowered his eyes, concealing the flash of certainty in them. His voice was as soft as water. "Thank you for taking me in, my lady. From this day on, A Jue will obey you alone."

She took him in as her kept lover and doted on him in every way.

Every day, Shen Jue was gentle and attentive, never jealous. Even when she flirted with other men right in front of him, he merely lowered his head and waited obediently, looking too weak to take care of himself.

She thought she had picked up an obedient plaything, unaware that a beast was lying in wait at her side.

●

At the palace banquet, the hall was filled with nobles.

"Your Majesty, I, Shen Jue, beg you to grant me a marriage. I am willing to marry Xiao Qingyan as her primary husband, to never leave her, and to obey my wife alone for the rest of my life."

Shen Jue suddenly stepped forward. He cast off all his gentleness and weakness, revealed his full noble bearing, and met the empress's gaze as he spoke with firm conviction.

His words fell, and a deathly silence filled the hall.

Only then did Xiao Qingyan realize he had played her. Her expression changed, and she sprang to her feet. "Shen Jue, are you insane? I never intended to marry anyone!"

He turned and walked toward her, his eyes full of obsession and possessiveness. He seized her wrist with a grip she could not break.

"You indulged me, and now you want to walk away and deny it? From the day you brought me back to your villa, you could only ever be my wife."

The empress, mindful of the power of both the Xiao family and the General's household, immediately issued an edict granting the marriage.

As the imperial edict was proclaimed, Xiao Qingyan felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

The story of selling himself to bury his father, his gentleness and meekness, it had all been a scheme!

She thought she was hiding a beauty away in a golden house. Little did she know that she was the one who had been trapped.

Theme: If you like someone, find a way to win them over.