The Emperor-Prisoning Pearl

[Frailty-stricken, scheming Crown Prince ❤️ foolish, spoiled beauty]

[Fake and real heiress + forced marriage to a minister's wife + rekindled romance]

After Crown Prince Xiao Han is deposed and moved to a desolate courtyard, he happens to go out for medical treatment and sees Ye Jingshu crying beneath a flower trellis.

Ye Jingshu is the real daughter recently found by the Marquis of Changrong's household. She is breathtakingly beautiful, and even her tears are captivating. According to the late empress's decree, she, not the fake heiress, should have been Xiao Han's fiancée.

An attendant says Ye Jingshu is spoiled, willful, and stupid. She often frames the fake heiress, who is more favored than she is, then gets scolded and made to kneel.

Xiao Han remains impassive, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Yet over the next several days, Ye Jingshu proves shockingly bold. She evades the guards, picks locks and breaks in through windows, bringing him delicacies and fine clothes. She tugs at his sleeve and begs sweetly for his help.

"I, your humble servant, have heard that Your Highness is exceptionally talented. I am willing to offer my modest fortune in exchange for a little guidance."

Hmm... That isn't sweet-talking. It's a bribe.

And she wants him to deal with his former fiancée, the fake heiress.

Xiao Han should have refused to get involved in this petty, foolish squabble between women. Yet, as if possessed, he pinches her cheek. "I'm just afraid Miss Ye can't afford the price."

*

Ye Jingshu's adoptive parents are the richest family in Huainan, and she's confident she can afford it.

She's also sure that the deposed crown prince is frail and sickly, forced to eat leftovers and wear rags. All she has to do is spend a little money, and he'll be so grateful he'll do everything he can to help her deal with the fake heiress who pretends to be innocent while bullying her.

But after using Xiao Han to gradually establish herself in the marquis's household, she realizes how terribly wrong she was.

One night, rain scatters blossoms. Circumstances force her to ask Xiao Han for help again. He makes no effort to hide his desire, trapping her in his arms with lust in his eyes. "He who eats another's food must do their bidding... Zhuzhu, you should know that some things can only be paid for with yourself!"

Pinned to the bed, Ye Jingshu is terrified.

The deposed crown prince has no future, and he's the fake heiress's former fiancé. How could she possibly...?

*

Xiao Han is preternaturally clever and ruthless. Like a quail, Ye Jingshu can't break free or escape, and doesn't dare refuse him.

The problem is that she has secretly become engaged to Meng Zongchen, heir to the Marquis of Wuxing, who has just returned victorious from the frontier.

She doesn't dare let Xiao Han find out. She hopes that once the new emperor ascends the throne, Xiao Han will leave for his fief and they will never see each other again.

But barely two days after the engagement, the deposed crown prince is reinstated.

The day before the wedding, the emperor dies. Crown Prince Xiao Han ascends the throne, and the whole country mourns. For a year, no one may marry or have children.

Terrified, Ye Jingshu gathers her valuables and tries to flee the capital.

Soldiers block her at every turn.

The gauze curtain on the imperial carriage is lifted. The new emperor, dressed in mourning robes, listens impassively as she nervously congratulates him on his ascension. She puts on a brave face, picks up her luggage, and tries to leave with her attendant, only to be seized and dragged to his side...

*

The new emperor holds the crying, struggling Ye Jingshu tightly in his arms and slowly tears her clothes apart.

He thinks that the wife his mother found for him is far too disobedient. She only pleases him when she needs him. When she doesn't, she even wants to marry another man...

He schemed at every turn to make her come to him of her own accord, trust him, depend on him, and look up to him... After being kept by his side for so long, how could she feel no desire for him?

*

Reading Guide:

Happy ending, 1v1, both virgins, rekindled romance, a little groveling to win her back

Later: an ill, brooding, possessive emperor ❤️ a charming, bold empress

The heroine's pet name is Zhuzhu. The hero, Xiao Han, isn't really frail.

Blurb written September 26, 2024, revised October 10, and last revised April 21, 2025. Image and text records have been saved for each version.

--- Please add my next story, The Warm Embers of the Imperial Terrace, to your collection ---

[Pseudo-incest + forced marriage + woman desired by all + rivals fighting over her]

In the third year of Zhenghe, Princess Zhaozhi, the High Priestess of the Holy Faith, quietly dies of illness. To prevent unrest among the people and a loss of imperial power, the emperor and the Xiao family agree to find a woman to impersonate Princess Zhaozhi and maintain the status quo of the Holy Faith.

Hua Nuan, a fourteen-year-old singer, has never performed in public. Because the beauty mark at the corner of her eye resembles the princess's, she is chosen in secret.

She is pure and delicate, with a voice as sweet as honey-soaked glass. She looks timid and easy to control.

The emperor is demanding. He thinks she lacks the bearing of a princess and is unfit for the task of helping him win the people's loyalty.

The head of the Xiao family, however, is very pleased. He is only waiting for a new High Priest to be selected before taking her as his wife and keeping her pampered at home.

Hua Nuan is on edge. She follows the emperor's orders, studying hard, cultivating herself, managing affairs of state, and avoiding the head of the family, who keeps teasing her with an aggressive, possessive air.

Just as she is exhausted, the civil official Zhang Ji appears, as gentle as a breeze.

.

A year later, on a spring night of begonia blossoms and rain...

Hua Nuan can no longer endure the stifling palace. Blushing and shy, she grabs Zhang Ji by the wrist and asks him to take her away from the palace, to elope with her.

But Zhang Ji's usual smile vanishes. He coldly pushes her away. "Please show some decorum, Princess. You must not treat your humble servant so intimately in His Majesty's presence."

Hua Nuan's heart trembles, and she turns back in despair.

At the top of the stairs, her nominal elder brother, the young emperor Helian Yelu, looks down at them with a frosty face and a menacing gaze.

.

"I taught you to read and observe propriety, taught you to govern and care for the people, and granted you boundless authority. Yet all you think about is romance, to the point of trying to elope with someone!"

The secret chamber is dim. It is impossible to tell whether the emperor's eyes show anger at her failure to live up to his hopes, or utter disappointment.

Cornered by his sword, Hua Nuan helplessly falls to her knees. She gently tugs at the hem of his robe and sobs, "Elder Brother, I was wrong. Please forgive me this once. I'll do whatever you say from now on..."

The emperor has always been cold and merciless, and Hua Nuan thinks she has no chance of survival.

But a moment later, the sword clatters to the ground.

The emperor's icy fingertips brush her feverish lips.

Hua Nuan opens her eyes, trembling.

The iron-hearted emperor, renowned throughout the realm for shining like the sun and moon and ruling with an iron fist, is gazing at her with uncontrollable obsession.

"A Nuan, just behave yourself, and your elder brother can give you anything you want. I could even kill the head of the Xiao family for you..."

.

Reading Notes:

1. Happy ending, both virgins, a cold, fierce, wild emperor x a clever, fragile princess

2. The head of the Xiao family is the emperor's sworn younger brother and the original princess's fiancé

3. A fictional dynasty inspired by historical countries with religious cultures and a belief in the divine right of kings

4. At first, the heroine struggles to escape her lowly status. Later, she realizes she is a princess with real power, gradually grows, and works alongside the hero

Theme: People are always searching for warmth. May you find what you seek