After I Was Forced to Marry a Powerful Minister

In the twenty-second year of Mingyong, a coup shook the palace. A powerful minister held the emperor hostage to control the feudal lords, wielding absolute power. The royal family was wiped out, leaving only one lonely, helpless little princess. Everyone thought she would perish in the coup, but before long, news of her wedding spread across the country. The first thing the minister did after taking power was ask for the princess's hand in marriage. No one knew what the minister was up to. People wondered whether even a minister who showed no interest in women could be captivated by the most beautiful woman in the land. Only the little princess felt a chill in her heart. Sitting in her bridal sedan, she trembled uncontrollably, drenched in cold sweat. Seven years earlier, she had studied at the academy. When she was young, she had been spoiled and arrogant. To win her imperial brother's trust, she had deliberately tormented the minister for an entire year: kicking him into an icy lake in winter, splashing him with boiling water in summer, putting snakes in his bedding and needles in his food. Her vicious deeds were countless. Twenty people, led by her, had bullied the minister. Now he had killed them all. Only she remained. It's over, the little princess thought in terror. He's coming to take revenge on me. ※※ The bridal sedan was carried into the minister's residence. The little princess trembled violently, ready at any moment to swallow the poison she had hidden in her mouth. She was afraid to die, but she was even more afraid of revenge, of being left to suffer worse than death. But the mad-dog minister, whose very name made people turn pale, knelt on one knee before her and forcibly removed the poison from her mouth. He studied the pill for a moment, then smiled. "Now you know to be afraid." You're the little princess I've thought about every day for seven whole years. The noble young lady I've yearned for but could never have, the one I've been crazed to claim. In that case, you really should be afraid. Bonus scene: Seven years after they parted ways at the academy, the former bully and her victim had completely switched places. They crossed paths in the imperial palace. Their eyes met, and undercurrents swirled. The little princess looked composed, but inside she was utterly panicked, banging her head on the floor: He can't see me, he can't see me... Against all expectations, the minister called out to her, his tone indifferent. "I heard your sixth husband died before the wedding again?" The little princess shuddered. Wasn't it because you killed them all? It was obviously a threat, and she fled in terror. The minister's expression unreadable, he straightened his sleeves. The day of the coup would be the day he secured the position of her seventh husband. [Reading Guide:] A pampered, down-on-her-luck princess who's afraid to die x a ruthless, rebellious mad-dog minister ① The heroine chose the wrong side in the struggle for the throne and bullied the hero. But she was also once kind to him. She doesn't remember that, only the terrible things she did. ② The hero has been secretly in love with the heroine for seven years. He's genuinely devoted to her. She was both his dark moonlight and his white moonlight when they were young. ③ The story begins at the academy. The heroine doesn't suffer; she's just scaring herself. Premise: .