Zhao Lingxi is publicly jilted by the top scholar, her reputation tarnished as she endures gossip and contempt.
She laughs it off, mourning only the money she has wasted.
Her childhood sweetheart ingratiates himself with the powerful, discarding her like a worn-out shoe.
With no other choice, she goes on a blind date. Passing by a stream, she finds a stunningly handsome man, gravely wounded.
The handsome stranger exudes nobility, with sharp brows and blood staining his black robes. He is at death's door, his life hanging by a thread.
The moment he opens his eyes, he is filled with murderous intent. He grips her by the throat and demands coldly, "Who sent you?"
Zhao Lingxi is on the verge of tears. She kindly saved his life, only to be falsely accused and nearly killed. Unable to harden her heart, she drags the "trouble" back to her dilapidated hut.
Will her scumbag ex regret it and come crawling back to beg for another chance?
Sorry, she's already someone else's unreachable first love.
With a letter of divorce, she dumps her live-in husband and wanders the world in search of the truth behind what happened.
After many twists and turns, the Empress Dowager has her taken into the palace and forces her to acknowledge a new family, passing her off as someone else and drawing her into palace intrigue. Secretly tasked with a mission, she is ordered to seduce the living King of Hell.
At court, the regent feared by every civil and military official looks down at her from on high, his gaze dark and sinister.
Zhao Lingxi is so horrified she nearly faints.
The husband she picked up on a whim has grievously harmed the regent.
And now her son's stepfather turns out to be someone with such overwhelming power.
--
Pei Jin has lived among blades since childhood, clawing his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood to become the regent, a man whose power looms over the court and whose name terrifies all.
While inspecting Jiangnan, he is hunted by political enemies and accidentally falls from his lofty position, becoming the "kept husband" at her mercy.
A country girl saves his life and tends his wounds. She calls him a lunatic, yet protects him, too. She takes this fearsome man and stubbornly gives him a weakness. As they spend day after day together, he falls deeply in love.
A deception drives her to abandon her husband and child and flee in panic.
When he regains his power, crushes the turmoil, and returns covered in blood, no one in the world can stand in his way.
The unexpected sight of Princess Zhaoning behind the Empress Dowager makes him raise an eyebrow before willingly kneeling to pay his respects.
"Your subject pays his respects to Your Highness, the Princess."
He catches sight of the princess, standing frozen in stunned silence, from the corner of his eye. His expression changes in an instant. He turns solemnly to the emperor, pleading for recognition: "That's right. My wife is Princess Zhaoning, which makes me the emperor's brother-in-law. I beg Your Majesty to confirm it."
He bends close, his warm breath brushing her face. "Now that you're this prince's consort, you don't recognize the 'live-in husband' you picked up anymore?"
Zhao Lingxi is mentally collapsing: "..."
What kind of lunatic did I get myself mixed up with? And how did the villain trick me into trying to assassinate him?!
[Notes]
1V1, both leads have only ever been with each other, sweet romance and face-slapping
The princess is bold and money-loving, with desire but also principles. The male lead is sinister and unhinged, and dotes on the heroine alone.
Live-in husband trope + secret identity reveals + a little political intrigue!
Set in an alternate history. Please don't nitpick historical details! Be kind!
[Archived on 2026 | 4 | 23]
Theme: In a turbulent age, power games are fleeting. Only true love lets both people have their happy ending.
