Yun Kou, the youngest daughter of the Grand Tutor, was born frail, yet her radiant beauty made her famous throughout the capital. Shortly after coming of age, she was taken into the palace as the Crown Prince's secondary consort.
The Crown Prince was cold-hearted. As soon as he ascended the throne, he accused the Yun family of conspiring with the Seventh Prince to rebel, using it as an excuse to destroy the family.
The Grand Tutor died with his name in disgrace, and more than a hundred members of the Yun family were killed as well.
Not long after being confined to the Cold Palace, Yun Kou died, her soul lost to oblivion.
Reborn into a new life, Yun Kou resolved to find herself a powerful backer.
After considering her options, she chose Shen Lin, the young chief councilor who had toppled the dynasty and held all power in his hands in her previous life.
-
In the capital, everyone knew that Shen Lin, son of Grand Secretary Shen Zhiheng, was arrogant, reckless, and ruthless.
Even as a youth, he had been deeply valued by the emperor. The Crown Prince was his friend, the Seventh Prince followed his lead, and his own sister was the emperor's most favored consort.
No one in the entire capital dared cross him. He was unrivaled in prestige.
At the Lantern Festival, Yun Kou pretended to have gotten separated from her family. Clutching his brocade robe, she called him "big brother" and earnestly insisted on going back to his residence with him.
His attendants were terrified and were about to scold her.
But the peerlessly handsome young man merely bent down, lightly brushing his fingers over the corner of her tear-reddened eye. With a faint, knowing smile, he asked, "Come back to my residence with me? And why is that?"
"Because you're handsome, big brother."
-
The current chief councilor, Shen Lin, had raised a lovely little girl since he was young. People said she was a distant relative of the Shen family. Her childhood name was Zhouzhou, and she was so beautiful she could outshine the whole city. Kept deep in the inner quarters, she was doted on without restraint.
Barely fifteen, she was already receiving proposals from suitors as numerous as fish swimming upstream.
Even the Crown Prince came to call, joking that he would take her as a secondary consort.
Holding a wolf-hair brush, Shen Lin glanced lazily at the delicate girl grinding ink for him. "Zhouzhou, do you want to get married?"
Yun Kou, who had been planning to find herself a new backer: "...?"
Yun Kou bit her red lip and lowered her eyes, answering guiltily, "But aren't you going to take a wife, big brother?"
As she spoke, she watched the young man press his brush hard against the pristine white paper. Ink smudged across it, staining the page like a fallen flower.
That night, the lamplight was dim.
Shen Lin slowly toyed with the strands of black hair entwined around his fingers, gently stroking the girl's lips, bitten until they were faintly red. His eyes darkened, his voice husky. "Do you still want to get married?"
Yun Kou: "..."
-
Years later, Yun Kou asked him about the Crown Prince's rebellion and execution.
Holding a book in one hand, Shen Lin replied in a cool, casual tone, "Anyone who covets Zhouzhou deserves to die."
A ruthless, spoiled young power broker × a sweet, delicate beauty
The heroine is reborn. Both leads have no prior romantic or sexual partners. Happy ending.
Seven-year age gap.
Blurb first posted: October 14, 2021. Screenshot saved.
Theme: You are the light I have pursued all my life, and the love of my life.
