The new emperor usurped the throne, bathed the imperial city in blood, and slaughtered the former Crown Prince's entire faction.
Everyone said that Princess Shuhua, Xiao Chenbi, who had been close to the deposed Crown Prince, could not possibly escape her fate.
At his coronation, the new emperor personally bestowed the title of Grand Princess upon Xiao Chenbi, granted her a mansion, and let her invite as many lovers as she pleased.
Every night, her mansion rang with revelry.
The people sighed that the Grand Princess was the last remnant of familial affection in the tyrant's heart.
Only Xiao Chenbi knew how outrageous this so-called familial affection was behind closed doors.
There was a secret passage linking the Princess's Mansion to the imperial palace.
Whenever the moon reached its zenith, Xiao Chenbi had to follow it to the emperor's bedchamber.
She was the Grand Princess of the Great Sheng dynasty, and also a caged bird in the emperor's hand.
*
Until the ministers risked their lives in protest, using the will of the people as leverage to force the emperor to take an empress.
That night, Xiao Duo came to see her at the Grand Princess's Mansion for the first time.
In the dark of night, Xiao Duo slowly said, "I have agreed to the Grand Tutor's request. I will choose an auspicious day to take an empress."
Xiao Chenbi lowered her lashes, then lifted her eyes to him in his arms, just as she had when they first met. Her gaze was clear and cool, with none of the feelings she had once held for him.
"Your Majesty is wise."
Her voice was calm, revealing neither joy nor sorrow.
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Duo's hand tightened around her chin. Darkness roiled in his eyes. "I am your husband, and you are my empress."
"As long as Chenbi lives, she can only be entangled with me. A hundred years after her death, she can only be buried in my mausoleum."
Even reduced to ashes and bones, they would be his ashes and his bones.
*
In Xiao Duo's life, there were only two things he could not let go of:
The throne, and Chenbi.
She was his all-consuming obsession, and the old wound engraved deep in his bones.
Reading Guide:
1. One-on-one romance, both are each other's only partners, and the male lead has no fake harem.
2. The male and female leads are not related by blood.
3. The male lead is genuinely unhinged. Please proceed with caution if that's not your thing.
Blurb dated September 5, 2021. Screenshot saved.
Theme: Dawn will always come.
