Watch him offer his sincere heart, only to have it trampled again and again! Watch him wield power over the court, yet fail to make a lowborn woman spare him even a glance! Watch this cold, lonely minister fall from his pedestal, step by step, for a woman who should mean nothing to him!
He loves her to the extreme! She hates him to the extreme!
A fierce tangle of love and hate, an all-out battle between two people who are made for each other. Both leads are virgins.
【Stubborn, resilient, loyal, beautiful little white flower × domineering, powerful, sinister, lovesick minister】
【The male lead takes her by force, hides a ruthless heart behind a refined exterior, and stops at nothing to get what he wants】
On one of his outings, Xie Zhao, a well-born inspector from Jiangnan, was stopped by a pitiful beauty with a striking face, who asked for help. He patiently helped her.
A few days later, the prefect of Hangzhou hosted a banquet for the successful candidates in the imperial examinations. Xie Zhao, a friend of the new scholars, was invited.
As he wandered through the residence, he saw a woman leaning against a stone bridge, gazing into the distance. In plain makeup and simple clothes, she stood with the graceful poise of a crane, her beauty lush and radiant, her eyes bright as they shifted, like snow gathered beneath the moon.
The lake shimmered with green ripples, and the shadows of flowers drifted in a delicate fragrance. His heart stirred, and in a daze, he remembered how she had looked that day, clothes askew and eyes brimming with tears, so delicate and alluring. He suddenly laughed at himself.
In that instant, the world turned upside down and his mind reeled.
He willingly fell into the trap of her beauty.
Their two chance encounters had been so perfectly timed that he was certain she had sought him out.
If so, he would find the household steward and ask her name, then bring her openly into his residence.
But the steward was horrified and cried out, “You mustn’t! She is the wife of Liu Yunche, this year’s third-place graduate!”
Xie Zhao’s expression darkened. He clenched his fist so tightly his bones cracked.
The whole scene was witnessed by Liu Yunche, who was hiding nearby…
*
On the day the third-place graduate married a noblewoman from the capital, Xie Zhao pinned Shen Lan beneath him.
Blood filled Shen Lan’s mouth as she said, “Xie Jichen, if you want me, why break my spirit?”
His eyes brimmed with menace. “Now that you’ve ruined my reputation, you’ll spend the rest of your life paying for it.”
Reader’s Guide:
1. Inspired by the Ming dynasty, a historical romance.
2. Neither lead is entirely right or wrong. They are both trapped in their own fates, unable to escape.
3. Still, it’s a lot of fun to see the male lead suffer.
Theme: Fear no powerful foe; dare to love and hate
