A Heartfelt Vow

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In the first year of Yanping, the emperor held a grand selection.

Mu Qianning failed the palace selection, but was kept in the palace.

Her attendants told her that daughters of the imperial household were married to members of the imperial clan, and that the Empress Dowager intended to marry her off to Prince Qi.

So she waited for the emperor's decree.

But no matter how long she waited, the decree she received was not a marriage arrangement, but an order making her empress.

The emperor sent back every daughter of the imperial household chosen by the Empress Dowager at the selection, keeping only her.

From then on, she became the empress of Great Xia, the emperor's one and only love.

But she could never return home again.

She had gained the most intense devotion and the most passionate love in the world.

The extravagant, splendid palaces of the imperial city were a cage she could not escape.

The emperor's scorching gaze, constantly fixed on her, was a rope binding her in place.

His love was so heavy that it seemed like an invisible hand gripping her, leaving her struggling to breathe, unable to bear it.

She struggled to survive in the abyss of this love.

She could not escape, and there was no way out.

-

Sometimes I hate it.

Why am I the emperor?

Because I wish there were no one else in this world but you and me.

But at other times, I'm grateful for my position.

Because only this way can you belong to me completely.

Does my love make you unhappy?

Why do you want to escape?

You always say there's something wrong with me, but I don't think so.

If loving you is an illness, then I want it to become terminal.

So don't look at anyone else, don't fall in love with anyone else, and don't leave me.

Ever.

Reading guide:

This is a story of possessive love. The male lead falls in love with the female lead at first sight. If this isn't your thing, please don't read it.

The male lead is extremely obsessive and unwell. Though he is the emperor, he values the female lead above everything in the world. If he had to choose between his life, his throne, and her, he would choose her without hesitation.

Losing her is unbearable to him. If it happens, he may go mad, or be unable to go on living.

But his love is too heavy for the female lead, who cannot accept it and longs for freedom.

This is the source of the conflict between them.

The story follows the male lead's transformation, from being so obsessive that the female lead feels suffocated and wants to escape, to learning how to love her properly.

I don't know whether to call it angsty or sweet. Personally, I think the male lead is a hopeless romantic. He's the emperor, but the female lead is what he wants most.

The happy ending comes when he becomes, or pretends to become, a normal person.

Theme: Love means letting go and wishing the other person well.