His Majesty Wants Me to Betray My Master for Glory

#Possessive Obsession#Fake Death and Angsty Drama#The Relentless Pursuit of a Runaway Wife#

[Blurb withdrawn]

Wei Lian was born into humble circumstances. The heir to the marquis's estate never minded that she was soiled, and gently held out his hand. "Will you come with me?"

When the marquis's estate fell into ruin, she was fortunate enough to be granted an audience with the new emperor, whose very presence terrified the court. His looks were unmatched. He lifted her chin with the tip of his boot, cutting off her desperate plea for mercy.

Night fell, and the wind and snow fell silent.

Wrapped tightly in a man's oversized robe, her hair veiling her beautiful face, Wei Lian stumbled out of the bedchamber.

The terrible scene would not leave her mind:

Zhao Qingjue stirred her desire even as he interrogated her.

"Does your master know you can be so wanton?"

*

Wei Lian tried every trick in the book, pretending to please the new emperor and sweet-talking him into lowering his guard, all to give the heir a slim chance at survival.

Her legs trembled weakly as she wept and yielded to his kisses.

Not far away, the heir hung from a torture rack, his body covered in wounds.

At last, with no way out, Wei Lian brought him a bowl of longevity noodles laced with poison.

Everyone envied Wei Lian for her good fortune. She had committed the grave crime of regicide, yet all the emperor did was confine her to the palace, treating her with every courtesy and granting her endless wealth and splendor.

Only Wei Lian knew the bitterness she could not speak of. On the bed, chains clinking, Zhao Qingjue wore a chilling smile. "Is all you feel pain?"

"You were the one who drugged me with an aphrodisiac in the first place."

*

Zhao Qingjue needed no reason to kill anyone. The timid, catlike criminal maid was an exception in the ledger of the dead. He hated this criminal maid, hated that she remained loyal to the beast who had betrayed him.

She was a timid woman.

She wanted to kill the emperor.

Zhao Qingjue did not understand love, but he had seen Wei Lian cradle that man's face. He had also seen her stare at him with numb eyes.

In a moment of madness, Zhao Qingjue said, "Bear me a child."

At last, Wei Lian gave in, sweet-talking as she described the home they would share.

A home? Would his arms warm her there?

But later, she helped her master escape, then died alone in the rushing river.

The palace lamps burned through the night. Zhao Qingjue let the flames devour her wedding dress, clutching the chest she had stabbed, feeling as if his heart and guts had been torn apart.

"Whether alive or dead, I want to find her."

At last, his heart, steeped in jealousy and hatred, had nowhere left to go.

How dare she deceive him again and again for that man?

*

[An Emperor Who Has Had a Taste and Wants More x A Sweet-Talking Maid]

Reader's Guide

1. The angst is off the charts. This is primarily a romance.

2. Both leads are virgins. The male lead is chaste in body and mind and has no harem. The female lead once had feelings for the second male lead.

3. The man is strong and the woman is weak. There is physical and emotional abuse, so proceed with caution.

4. You don't need to tell me if you drop the story. I hope you enjoy reading.

Next historical romance: My Grudge Against My Dead Wife

Princess Xia Guantang is the most esteemed woman in the empire. She is stunningly beautiful, but by nature arrogant and domineering, with countless male favorites in her household.

Even her elder brother could no longer stand it. He urged her earnestly to mend her ways. "How about I find you a consort?"

Xia Guantang lounged against an embroidered stool as a tall man, elegant as a blue crane and dressed in court robes, crossed the peony-filled garden toward her.

One fleeting glance.

Xia Guantang sat up in a daze, only then realizing this was Lord Rong, the Ministry of Justice's notorious "Jade-Faced Rakshasa." Even more unbelievable, he had a face identical to the beloved she had treasured in her youth. Even their names were so alike.

"Then I'll have him."

*

An imperial decree of marriage ruined Rong Xun's career. The couple were together in name only. A man of such noble character naturally looked down on the frivolous, pleasure-seeking, and notoriously debauched princess.

Xia Guantang stopped at nothing. When passion rose, she ran her fingertips over his tightly shut eyes and ordered him to open them and imitate her male favorites. Shameful red crept into those beautiful phoenix eyes, but he could only pretend to be the man she had loved.

Xia Guantang smiled coquettishly. "You are my good husband."

"He wronged and betrayed me. You can repay his debt in his place."

Later, Rong Xun raised an army in rebellion. Xia Guantang was certain she would die by his sword. She used a strip of white silk to fake her hanging in the bridal chamber, but accidentally left behind a farewell letter as she packed up to leave.

The letter began:

"A-Xun, the truth is, all these years, it was because I loved you too much."

*

Rong Xun rose to the highest office, supported the young emperor's ascension, and became a regent praised by the people. His comrades congratulated him on escaping his misery, and never failed to curse the woman who had supposedly hanged herself in the flames.

No one would ever know that Rong Xun always knelt beside his bed in the dead of night, unfolding that strange farewell letter.

Until the ink blurred with water stains.

Until he found a portrait that looked just like him.

Until he heard that the woman was not dead.

A woman was brought into the yamen. Rong Xun sat alone in the seat of authority, his cold, fine-boned face growing ever more gaunt. As he lifted his eyes, the light fell across his tired, slightly sinister features.

The woman on her knees trembled. "Please spare me, my lord. We don't know each other."

Rong Xun calmly traced the face he had yearned for and hated for so long, sighing beside her trembling hair.

"It doesn't matter if we don't know each other."

"She wronged and betrayed me. You can repay her debt in her place."

Theme: Keep the light in your heart