After Rong Yuan rescued and took her in, Chao Kui was always looking for a chance to repay him.
Unfortunately, Rong Yuan held power over the entire court and ranked alongside the regent. There was nothing he needed a little maid like her to do. That is, until someone poisoned him with a love gu, and he urgently needed an antidote. Chao Kui knew her chance to repay him had come.
Chao Kui dutifully prepared the antidote, not daring to entertain any improper thoughts.
She had dreamed that they were all living in a storybook. Rong Yuan was the story's protagonist, and before long he would conquer the enemy kingdom and rescue his childhood sweetheart, who had been forced to take the princess's place in a political marriage. Then, with everyone's blessing, they would marry and live happily ever after.
After that, she would naturally be of no use.
So, after helping Rong Yuan rid himself of the love gu, Chao Kui wisely packed her bags and got as far away as possible.
*
Rong Yuan had originally been born into an aristocratic family. He was as bright and pure as the moon, a noble man without equal. But after wading through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he became a powerful official feared by all. People across the land said he was violent and tyrannical, bent on controlling the emperor and ruling in his name.
After hearing it for so long, even Rong Yuan couldn't help trying to enjoy the thrill of wielding power and shedding blood. Fortunately, he had Chao Kui by his side.
Everyone called her foolish and simple, but to Rong Yuan, Chao Kui was a lamp in a dark room, a warm sun in the depths of darkness. She kept him from falling completely into the abyss.
The long days and nights of curing the gu also let Rong Yuan experience the stirrings of love for the first time.
He took advantage of Chao Kui's docility and obedience to possess her without restraint, confident that she would never leave him.
But when he returned home after a campaign, he suddenly realized that Chao Kui had fled.
He personally led a search, only to hear that Chao Kui had died in the chaos of battle.
His sun had gone out...
*
Later, Rong Yuan went on an imperial tour of a vassal kingdom on the emperor's behalf. In the royal palace, a man hurrying by bumped into him. The man said his pregnant wife had suddenly gone into labor, which was why he was in such a panic. Rong Yuan did not punish him and even ordered someone to fetch the imperial physician.
It was an insignificant incident, until Rong Yuan happened to catch sight of the man's pregnant wife's face.
Who else could it be but Chao Kui! She had actually married someone else and even had a child?
Rong Yuan's gaze turned sinister in an instant...
In the dim room, lit only by candlelight, Rong Yuan shed his usual cool detachment and possessed Chao Kui again and again. He gripped her chin from behind and leaned down, his lips close to her ear, his voice almost crazed.
"Chao Kui, you can only be my wife."
Both leads are devoted only to each other. Sweet romance, melodramatic but not angsty.
※ The leads love only each other. Strictly one-on-one, and the male lead falls first. ※
Includes: faking death and fleeing while pregnant | an aloof, untouchable beauty going mad with love and "being the other woman" | forced marriage and possessive pursuit | the male lead's long road to winning her back | and other melodramatic tropes
Theme: People can overcome fate and refuse to submit to destiny.
