When Wen Yu was young, she fell deeply in love with someone and pledged herself to him in secret.
But her elder brother was trapped in a hopeless predicament, and her only way to save him was to marry into the Duke of Rong's household. To save her loved one, she personally severed her romance and became the wife of Lu Chongzhou, the Duke's Fourth Son.
After two years together, her husband passed away. During the year she spent in mourning, her mother-in-law treated her harshly and made things difficult for her, while the servants fawned on whoever held power. She endured and gave way at every turn, only to face ever-worsening humiliation and torment.
Wen Yu finally came to her senses. Her reputation was already in tatters, so why remain trapped by the shackles of propriety and spend the rest of her life suffering?
She resolved to break free from her cage, quietly plan an escape, and flee the Duke's estate.
-
When Lu Xianzhou was young, he was tossed from place to place, with no one to rely on. Wen Yu gave him several years of comfort and warmth.
He fought his way across the battlefield with ruthless determination, waiting only to return victorious and give her a life of glory and luxury.
But what came instead was a letter from her, ending their love and repaying his kindness with betrayal.
The boy who had once been lowborn and adrift was suddenly acknowledged by his family and became the heir to the Duke of Rong. He was also a powerful court official and a close confidant of the emperor.
Lu Xianzhou was born wild and ruthless. He had never cared about worldly conventions or the dignity of his clan.
Even if she had once abandoned him for being poor, even if she was now his younger brother's wife, he would still make her his.
-
On the anniversary of his death, a fine rain fell.
Dressed in white mourning clothes before her late husband's tomb, Wen Yu silently settled on a plan to escape.
Lu Xianzhou trapped her between the cold gravestone and himself, his knuckles pressing against the pulse in her neck. His voice was low and hoarse, heavy with years of repressed love and hate:
"If you insist on running away, you'll only ruin your reputation. Either way, you'll end up with nothing. So you might as well be ruined by me."
Years of decorum shattered. A forbidden, frenzied love broke free, and this intense struggle, one no one dared to witness, became impossible to stop.
[Reading Guide]
Reunited former lovers | Forbidden tension | Obsessive and possessive | Coercive romance
He is a powerful court official in public, but inside he is consumed by obsession, pleading for her love.
The heroine is not a virgin; the hero is. | HE
Premise: Even at the bottom of the abyss, you can still carve out a ray of light.
