His Majesty Is Heartless

Chasing-her-back groveling | Rekindled love | Angsty, sweet, and bittersweet melodrama | A love caught in a sea of hatred

As the daughter of the Grand Tutor, Wen Xuecheng grew up with the Ninth Prince, Xue Yuanzhao. They studied together and shared a deep affection.

Wen Xuecheng was breathtakingly beautiful, while the Ninth Prince, Xue Yuanzhao, was striking and refined, the most handsome man in the capital. Many said they were made for each other.

Xue Yuanzhao promised her that if he could marry her, he would never take a concubine or be unfaithful.

But when Xue Yuanzhao proposed to the Grand Tutor, he was rejected. The Grand Tutor told him that Xuecheng was already promised to Han Zhen, a newly appointed jinshi. The reason was simple: Han Zhen was elegant and distinguished, with a bright future, while Xue Yuanzhao was caught up in the struggle for the throne, his prospects uncertain.

Wen Xuecheng thought that once Xue Yuanzhao ascended the throne, he would come and take her away from the Han family.

Xue Yuanzhao did indeed win the struggle for the throne. In the first year of his reign, he held a grand selection of consorts to fill the imperial harem. When Wen Xuecheng heard about it at the Han residence, she burst into tears.

As the years passed, it was as if Xue Yuanzhao had forgotten her.

Wen Xuecheng and Xue Yuanzhao met again at an imperial Mid-Autumn banquet.

By then, Han Zhen had been dead for three years, having died in the line of duty. Her mourning period was over, and her father had brought her back to the capital from Yunzhou. She eagerly awaited the banquet, hoping she could rekindle her relationship with him.

For a time, Wen Xuecheng believed she was the one Xue Yuanzhao had never been able to forget. Everyone said that Wen Xuecheng was coming back, and that a storm would sweep through the six palaces.

She had wished for their reunion, thinking he would keep his promise, dismiss the harem for her, and shower her with all his favor. Instead, all she received was a cold imperial decree appointing her as Noble Consort, followed by countless lonely nights in the palace.

He had another beloved consort, Xu Wan. For her sake, he neglected the three thousand beauties of the imperial harem.

One night, after drinking, he finally came to her palace. As the room grew warm and fragrant, just as they were about to become lovers, he suddenly stopped. He stared at her and said quietly, "I took you in only because I had a lifelong regret. Now that I've gotten what I wanted, it's nothing special. How ridiculous that you, a married woman, spent your days longing for me. Tell me, how can you face Han Zhen?"

With tears in her eyes, she finally asked what she had been wondering all along. "Your Majesty, didn't you promise me..."

He gave a cold laugh. "What makes you think I would never forget a widow?" He swept out of the room. She heard that he had gone to Xu Wan's Longevity Hall.

Wen Xuecheng was left alone on the bed, crying beneath the swaying red candles. She covered her eyes and finally understood: in the years they had been apart, everything had changed. There was no going back.

Later, for Xu Wan's sake, he dismissed the imperial harem and allowed the consorts to marry whomever they wished. Wen Xuecheng alone received an imperial decree ordering her to shave her head and become a nun. Before the Buddha beneath the green lamp, her heart suddenly went cold. She pierced her throat with a golden hairpin and ended her life with ease.

As she lay dying, blood pouring from her, the world before her eyes was swallowed by scarlet. She seemed to see the emperor, clad in dark robes and looking refined, break down the door and hold her in his arms, his hands trembling violently. She could no longer remember what he said.

Wen Xuecheng thought that in this life, she would never indulge in wishful thinking again, or presume that she was the irreplaceable moonlight in Xue Yuanzhao's heart.

Reader's Guide:

1. A groveling-to-win-her-back story. The male lead is Xue Yuanzhao, and there will be no new male lead. Inspired by the cannon-fodder "moonlight" figures and dismissed "harem" consorts in certain palace-intrigue novels.

2. The potential triggers are all in the blurb. The first life is non-virgin for both leads; the second life is virgin for both. One-on-one romance.

3. At heart, this is an angsty, sweet-and-sour, old-school melodrama. There are countless great stories on Jinjiang. If this one isn't for you, feel free to move on. Please don't announce that you're dropping it. Unfriendly comments will be deleted.

4. Cover art credited to Shuimo Danqing - Paigu Xiaobao.

5. Blurb captured on 2023.10.12.

Theme: Love yourself.