When Yi Huan was fifteen, she was given to Prince Jing, Zhao Chen, as a gift.
She followed him without a name or status, warming his bed and tending to his every need.
Yi Huan's father held a low-ranking post, but he knew how to work the system.
He sent all five of his beautiful daughters to become concubines to the princes, casting a wide net and hoping that whichever one eventually ascended the throne would help the Shen family rise.
Yi Huan's birth mother was of humble origins and the least favored of them all. Her father casually sent her to Prince Jing, who was likewise overlooked, and didn't even bother to secure her a title.
In a chaotic age of shifting loyalties and political intrigue, no one expected the throne to pass through so many hands before finally landing in the lap of Prince Jing, the man nobody believed in.
Yi Huan, who had been favored by Prince Jing for years, went from an overlooked illegitimate daughter to someone her father and all their relatives eagerly courted.
At long last, her years of pleading paid off: her birth mother's memorial tablet was brought into the ancestral shrine, and a tomb was built for her.
**
Within the hibiscus curtains, after their lovemaking, the new emperor settled Yi Huan, her breathing faint and the corners of her eyes still red, onto his lap. He whispered gently in her ear, "I'll make you a noble consort. From now on, I'll summon you to my bed every night."
Yi Huan was gentle and docile, and she gave a sweet reply. But her gaze passed over the imperial desk behind the gauze curtains.
She knew there were portraits of several noble-born young women on it, all candidates for the position of empress.
A hidden current passed through her eyes. Still, she remained alluring and compliant, letting Zhao Chen take his pleasure.
On the day she was to be made a noble consort, Yi Huan threw the golden crown Zhao Chen had placed on her head at his feet. For the first time, she shed her meek, timid facade, lifted her head, and stared straight at the lofty emperor. She spoke each word clearly:
"I don't want to be your noble consort."
The emperor was humiliated and flew into a rage. Gripping Yi Huan's slender waist, he said darkly, "Want to leave? Dream on."
Yi Huan looked at him and only laughed coldly.
One day, she finally broke out of the gilded cage Zhao Chen had built to keep her prisoner and vanished without a trace.
The absurd thing was that the cruel, cold-blooded emperor went mad. He did whatever it took to find her, even bringing her the phoenix crown of an empress.
Yi Huan only laughed carelessly. "You're willing to give it to me now, but I don't want it anymore."
Reader's guide: 1. Both leads have only been with each other. The male lead has no harem and no other women.
2. A delicate beauty who seems meek and obedient but is rebellious inside × a cruel, cold-blooded, ruthless dog of an emperor.
Theme: Women should pursue equal and freely chosen love
