Synopsis
“Fake delicate, real drama queen, lady-in-waiting to the emperor vs. rough peasant-born mad-dog emperor” A fierce push and pull, with love won through cunning and force.
Blurb:
Everyone in the palace said that although Lady-in-Waiting Xu, who served the emperor, always looked sickly, she had gone from enduring cold stares to enjoying the emperor's favor. She was the only one who could handle the new emperor, who was prone to fits of madness and unpredictable moods.
Some curious palace maids went to ask her how she did it, but never got an answer.
How did she do it? Xu Lanyao only smiled without a word, though inwardly she gritted her teeth. She should have been sent home with the former emperor's palace candidates, but she had accidentally learned Zhao Xian's secret, so he kept her by his side. Her clan had also assigned her the task of currying favor with the new emperor.
Xu Lanyao, struggling to survive in the cracks, swore she would escape the palace as soon as possible.
That night, after soothing the mad Zhao Xian to sleep, Xu Lanyao, damp with perspiration, opened the letter her young palace attendant had brought from home.
“Dear niece Lanyao, I hear you have won His Majesty's favor. I hope you will continue to work hard and not disappoint him. The prosperity of the Xu clan rests in your hands.”
Her hand trembled. She was about to burn the letter in secret when a large hand snatched it away from the candle flame.
The man, who had risen without her noticing, toyed with the edge of her sleeve. His deep, dark eyes swept over her lovely face, and his voice turned dangerous:
“Didn't Lady-in-Waiting Xu say the Xu clan had persecuted you for years, that you'd never join the noble families in this life, and that you'd always stand by My side?”
Xu Lanyao gazed at his irresistible face, gritted her teeth, and took his hand, placing it over her heart.
“My heart is aching again. It must be because their attempt to drive a wedge between us has made me furious.”
*
From the day Zhao Xian rebelled, he knew that even if the man on the throne was debauched and depraved, those people would still rather support an emperor of noble birth than him.
Even after he claimed the realm, people still looked down on him for his lowly origins.
Only that delicate young woman, who looked so frail that a gust of wind could knock her over, would carefully correct every wrong character he wrote, organize books whose titles he couldn't even read, and sternly tell the tutor who was taking advantage of him that there should be no discrimination in education.
At a grand banquet, a self-important scholar, drunk with wine, lamented, “The age has no heroes, so a whelp like him has made a name for himself.”
At the crucial moment, only Xu Lanyao held down his hand as he reached for his sword, firmly telling him, “I understand your ambitions, Ninth Brother.”
Those words carried him through his struggle against the ministers and the days when he was utterly alone. He resolved to lay the most precious things in the world at his woman's feet.
Instead, he received news that she had deceived him and become engaged to someone else.
That night, the side hall where the lady-in-waiting lived went up in flames.
*
On the day the Xu and Xie families were to become engaged, Xu Lanyao dressed in her finest clothes, radiant with beauty, and celebrated her successful escape from the palace.
As the ceremony ended, Emperor Zhao Xian stormed into the Xie residence with a sword and smashed everything in sight. Ignoring the people kneeling around him, he smiled at Xu Lanyao with his all-too-irresistible face.
“Madam Xie, there's been a fire in the palace, and no one is available. Once your ceremony is over, come back with Me.”
1. Zhao Xian (the Xian is pronounced with the fourth tone)
2. One couple, happy ending, both the male lead's body and heart are untouched
3. A sweet romance. You can't go wrong joining in.
Theme: You have to fight for what you want
