Caged Phoenix

[Forced Pursuit] [Faux Siblings] [Possessive, Brooding True Heir x Frail, Enduring Fake Heiress]

Rong Qin was an orphan until Prince Duan took a liking to her when she was seven and brought her back to his residence as his honored adopted daughter.

Though she had risen to a life of privilege overnight, she never forgot who she was.

She was merely a substitute for the prince's lost heir, meant to comfort the grieving couple.

For ten years, she lived cautiously, as if treading on thin ice, hoping that one day she could marry into an ordinary family and gain true freedom.

When she was seventeen, the real heir, Rong Xie, returned.

The man was dark and brooding. His gaze wrapped around her like a venomous snake, filled with hatred and an unspeakable heat.

"A fake like you thinks you can take my place?"

She naturally wouldn't dare compete with him.

Desperate to escape, she hastily chose a husband and married another man.

Then, in a single night, the palace was thrown into chaos and the throne room ran red with blood.

The man who was her brother in name had donned the imperial robes, ascended the throne, and become the emperor.

After the new emperor was crowned, there was plenty to be done, yet in the middle of the night he issued a secret decree, summoning only the married Princess Rong Qin to the palace to "attend to his illness."

The palace gates were locked and remained shut for three days.

Under the currents of intrigue, everyone said the emperor and princess were devoted siblings.

On the fourth day, the princess's husband, frantic with worry, could no longer restrain himself and forced his way into the palace to see her.

The many palace doors suddenly swung open. On the dragon throne, the emperor held the princess in his arms, her clothes disheveled and eyes brimming with tears, while leisurely wiping a bloodstained sword.

At his feet lay the old minister who had advised that "the princess's prolonged stay in the inner palace is improper," now silent and still.

The emperor's gaze was as cold as a blade as it swept over the husband's ashen face.

"You have disturbed the imperial presence and offended the princess."

"Would you like to find out... how sharp my sword is?"

[Bonus Scene]

Music drifted through the palace during a nighttime banquet.

As the wife of a court official, Rong Qin sat at the end of the table, hoping to stay unnoticed.

But the man on the throne never looked away from her.

After several rounds of wine, the chief eunuch quietly approached her table and spoke in a low but clear voice.

"His Majesty asks: Her Ladyship used to feel cold at the prince's residence. The wine is cold tonight, too. Would she like another layer?"

A black cloak embroidered with a dragon, unmistakably a man's, was respectfully presented to her.

The whole hall fell silent. Every gaze abruptly turned toward her.

Her fingertips were icy. She felt as though she had fallen into a frozen abyss.

Reader's Guide:

1. A story of forced pursuit. The male lead is a complete mad dog.

2. The leads are not related by blood, and both know that from the start.

3. Both leads are sexually inexperienced.

4. Synopsis screenshotted on August 30, 2025.

5. This synopsis was written on a whim. It will be polished when the story begins.

Theme: Oppose feudalism