Letting the Wolf Into the House

A Zhen had two husbands in succession. Her first husband was the man she loved most, a gentleman of impeccable character. Unfortunately, he died young in an accident, leaving no body behind. Her second husband was a prince of royal blood. He rescued her amid the chaos of war, when she had recently lost her first husband and had nowhere to go. He took her in and sheltered her from the fighting, gave her money and clothes, and searched for a renowned doctor to treat her old illness. When A Zhen was bedridden, Prince Yan even humbled himself to visit her day and night. She was anxious and uneasy, but Prince Yan said it was only repayment for a kindness. As it turned out, they had met before. The previous year, when Prince Yan was wounded in an assassination attempt during the military upheaval, A Zhen had taken him in and cared for him. The nobleman had remembered that small act of kindness all this time. A Zhen had planned to return to her hometown once the war was over, rebuild the house destroyed by the fighting, and build a burial mound for her late husband’s clothes and belongings. She would spend the rest of her days there, slowly carrying on. But things spiraled out of control in a way she never expected. The year after her husband died, A Zhen was alone and helpless. With no other choice, she remarried, becoming Prince Yan’s wife. 【Male Lead’s Perspective】 Ji Xun did many things and killed many people to get his wife. He even changed his habits and his clothes, patiently keeping up the act day after day until he finally coaxed her into making a little room for him in her heart. He thought he’d covered his tracks perfectly. But her first husband had survived after all Now the supreme ruler of the empire, Ji Xun’s eyes were bloodshot. He held his wife’s hand gingerly and pressed it to his chest. “I’ve loved you so humbly for all these years. Don’t you feel even the slightest affection for me?” A Zhen pried his fingers apart one by one, her expression calm, though her mind was in turmoil. She hated the liar standing before her, the criminal who had deceived and violated her night after night. And she hated herself even more. Why had she opened the door to a wolf and saved him all those years ago? 【Content Warnings】 Forced marriage and coercive pursuit. The male lead is sexually inexperienced; the female lead has a previous husband. The perspectives are biased. The male lead lies constantly, has been plotting for a long time, and uses despicable methods. He has done many terrible things. Theme: Have the courage to escape adversity and persevere.