Long-planned scheme x marriage first, love later x love and hate
Xiao Luan spent all seventeen years of her life learning how to be an empress.
With the power of the Xiao family behind her, whoever Xiao Luan chose could ascend the throne. But no one expected that, on the eve of their wedding, her fiancé would die unexpectedly in the countryside while secretly meeting someone. She had no choice but to look for a new candidate.
So she chose Gu Heci, the least favored of the princes.
A concubine-born son, out of favor, clever, obedient: he was a better puppet than the others, one who could father a prince with Xiao blood and let her control half the empire.
She valued his lack of powerful connections, while he valued her family's influence.
It was a political marriage in which both parties had their own schemes, yet people praised them as a perfectly harmonious match.
Xiao Luan found it laughable.
Ten years into their marriage, she helped him ascend the throne, and he made her empress. In the vast imperial harem, she was the only one.
People said the emperor and empress were deeply in love. Only Xiao Luan knew that they wished they could hide swords under each other's pillows and poison each other's meals. Even when they shared a bed, he lay beside her without ever crossing the line.
Seeing that they were unlikely to have an heir, Xiao Luan had no choice but to find another way. She planned to fill Gu Heci's harem, take the child and leave the mother behind, then raise a young emperor who would be easier to control.
But on the day she proposed selecting consorts, the usually indifferent emperor suddenly turned fierce. He stood in front of her, pressing closer step by step, his eyes dark and ominous.
"Xiao Luan," Gu Heci said slowly. "You really are a fine empress."
Gu Heci had spent ten years hiding in the shadows, raising secret guards and killing his elder brothers, all so he could claim Xiao Luan as his by right.
He knew she was ambitious, that she loved power, and that she had her own schemes. But he also knew he loved her.
The trouble was that she saw him as an enemy, while he feared her powerful clan would interfere in government. For years, they shared a bed but dreamed different dreams, putting on a show of affection while keeping their distance.
"The world believes the empress and I treat each other with tenderness and are deeply in love. They don't know we've long since gone our separate ways, plotting against each other until one of us dies."
P.S.
1. The hero has unrequited feelings for the heroine in the first half, and they become mutual later.
2. An alternate dynasty. The romance and plot progress side by side, with a little court intrigue. No real-world references, so don't overanalyze. This is not a wish-fulfillment story.
3. Both leads are sexually inexperienced. One-on-one romance, happy ending.
Theme: Be a good person
