After Being Offered to the Obsessive Crown Prince

Jiang Muli was presented to the Eastern Palace like a treasure by the heir of the Marquis of Changling.

Everyone said she was lucky. Crown Prince Xie Fuci was detached and indifferent to worldly desires, yet he doted on her in every way.

Only Jiang Muli knew she was dancing on the edge of a blade.

She had a secret, one that would cast her into the dirt if the Crown Prince ever found out.

When the truth came out, she tried to flee the Eastern Palace. But the man stared at her ominously, his features completely hidden in shadow, his eyes deep and dark.

She sank to the floor and saw the coldness in the eyes of the man who had once been so tender. A faint smile played at his lips. "Where do you think you're going? Wouldn't you rather stay here in the Eastern Palace and keep me company?"

During the days she was kept hidden away, Jiang Muli discovered she was pregnant.

After many twists and turns, the emperor died, and the Crown Prince ascended the throne in a single day.

One boring night in the deep palace, Jiang Muli weaved through the trees with a group of palace attendants, only to lose sight of everyone.

She ambled back slowly, only to see the new emperor, who should have been discussing state affairs with his ministers in the study. His robe was disheveled, and even his crown sat askew. His eyes were red as he ground out a few harsh words: "Trying to run away again?"

Jiang Muli clutched her belly and shook her head miserably. "I wasn't..."

That night, as they lay close together, he made her swear a solemn oath that she would never leave the palace again for the rest of her life.

After the child was born, Jiang Muli broke her promise anyway.

For three whole days, the imperial capital was turned upside down as everyone searched for her.

*

Everyone said His Highness the Crown Prince was gentle and refined, the very model of a noble gentleman. But Jiang Muli could never forget how he had tormented her during the days he kept her hidden in the Eastern Palace.

[Bonus Scene]

Three years later, a beautiful young widow in Tangshui Town had won the admiration of many.

As Jiang Muli walked down the road, a clear, sweet voice sounded behind her. "Mother, Father says he's making your favorite steamed goose with apricot blossoms tonight."

She went rigid, then slowly turned around.

A handsome man with a tall, straight figure strode toward her. His eyes brimmed with resentment, and his voice was hoarse. "Yuanyuan, I raised our child all by myself to this age. Are you still unwilling to come home with me?"

[Content warning: possessive coercion, melodrama. If this isn't your thing, please read with caution!]

* One couple, mutual devotion, groveling pursuit, and the male lead is very faithful.

* A fictional setting with original worldbuilding. Please don't nitpick historical details.

* The cover uses a template and is licensed, not exclusive.

-- Please add my upcoming novel, Rou, to your reading list --

Yi Rou followed her aunt to seek refuge with the Xie family. On the very day she arrived, many of the young masters in the household coveted her. She was strikingly beautiful but of low status, and no one knew that she already had a child of eighteen months.

To protect herself, after spending several days in the Xie household, she found the most suitable candidate for herself: Xie Yuheng, the legitimate eldest son.

Xie Yuheng was renowned throughout the land. His character was immaculate, and he was as unattainable as a cold moon above a snowy mountain.

There were many noble young ladies who wished to marry Xie Yuheng. Yi Rou had no chance of being one of them.

But she was more willing than any young lady to set aside her dignity, and her methods of flirting with Xie Yuheng were so brazen that people looked down on her.

Just as she was about to get what she wanted, Yi Rou unexpectedly noticed a crisscrossing scar at Xie Yuheng's waist.

It was identical to the scar borne by her child's father.

*

When Yi Rou was sixteen, she had used her body to help an unknown man expel a parasitic curse, and was forced to bear his child.

Yet she had never seen the man's face clearly.

With a child whose father's identity was unknown, she had no choice but to cast aside her dignity and find the child a father who would accept and protect him.

She never imagined that the stepfather she had gone to such lengths to find would be the very man who had abandoned her and their child.

Thinking back to what had happened before,

if the Xie family learned the truth, they would surely never allow her to stay.

Later, when Xie Yuheng planned to take her as his wife,

Yi Rou's eyes filled with tears as she said, "Thank you, Cousin, for looking after me all this time. But my feelings for you have always been nothing more than admiration."

*

The young master of the Marquis's household came to the Xie family to offer betrothal gifts, wishing to marry Yi Rou as his principal wife.

On the eve of the grand wedding celebrations in the household,

Yi Rou began disappearing from her chamber again and again at night.

Every time she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Xie Yuheng's dark gaze.

He gripped her chin firmly and coaxed her in a low voice: "Just admiration? Yi Rou, I'll give you a chance to take that back and say you love me."

1. Possessive coercion, obsessive behavior, and melodrama.

Theme: Follow your heart and stay true to yourself.