Zhong Huiyin died.
An arrow pierced her beneath the city wall. Pei Fuzhou looked at her with arrogant cruelty and left only one cool command: "Bury her."
Heaven took pity on her, and she was reborn.
Her soul settled into the body of Chi Yunyi, daughter of the Minister of the Secretariat. But she also became the rebel's cousin and neighbor. The only way she could stay alive was to tame the beast Pei Fuzhou, retrieve the imperial seal hidden with him, and help Ning Shuhe restore the dynasty.
Rumor had it that Pei Fuzhou was an ungrateful wolf who could never be tamed or satisfied. He killed his parents with his own hands, slaughtered his siblings, brought about the deaths of his closest kin, and poisoned Princess Zhaoyi with a blowgun. He single-handedly toppled the Qing'an Dynasty, massacred its officials, and seized its cities.
The arrow from her previous life had left her with a deep psychological scar. Every time she approached him, she lost her composure before the palace gates. Pei Fuzhou bent down, pinched her delicate, pale chin, and asked in a calm voice:
"Are you afraid of me?"
"...Cousin is heaven's favored son. I have admired you for a long time. To be graced by your presence is overwhelming. How could I be afraid?"
He despised her, yet kept her usefulness in mind.
Someone teased him, "Pei Fuzhou, don't end up regretting it later."
He answered with a cold laugh. "She's just a pawn. There's no harm in discarding her."
Yet no one expected him to fall for that pawn one day, becoming utterly and terrifyingly obsessed.
When Chi Yunyi realizes Pei Fuzhou has fallen in love with her, she feels the sky is falling. In the dead of night, she secretly releases a carrier pigeon, hoping to ask her husband from her previous life for help, only for Pei Fuzhou to follow her in secret.
Pei Fuzhou violently knocks away her concealed weapon and forcibly pins her tightly against his chest. His eyes brim with tender obsession, and his voice is sickeningly gentle.
"My dear cousin, didn't you say you'd admired me for a long time?"
"...Now your wish has come true."
Blurb written June 5, 2025
Revised October 18, 2025
Theme: Bowing one's head in surrender for love.
