In her previous life, Shen Huai was the most feared person in Bianliang. Young and old, men and women alike, everyone either flocked to him or fled from him as fast as they could.
Everyone called him a cold-blooded, heartless madman, saying he had launched a coup for the sake of power, murdered the emperor, and seized the throne. With ruthless speed, he had secured his place at court. Though he had once possessed no power at all, he somehow made every court official bow before him.
Even Song Xu believed this. She could hardly believe that Shen Huai, who had once been covered in blood and on the verge of death, had fought his way through the Lingjian Bureau with nothing but a long sword, then lain low for ten years before murdering the emperor and seizing the throne, becoming The Outcast, second only to the emperor and above all others. Song Xu, who should have been sent away for a political marriage, had instead been taken back to the Duke's residence and locked up by Shen Huai.
No one could have imagined that Shen Huai, a man who was bloodthirsty in public, would show every bit of his tenderness to Song Xu and reveal each of his weaknesses to her.
Song Xu had thought she would live out her days in the Duke's residence. But on the Shangsi Festival, a gang of bandits broke in and brutally murdered her.
As she lay dying, Song Xu resolved that if she could live again, she would make everyone who had ever hurt her pay.
On the brink of death, Song Xu watched a figure hurry toward her through the raging flames. To her surprise, it was Shen Huai.
Ignoring the flames consuming his clothes, Shen Huai held Song Xu tightly. His lips moved, but she could not tell what he was saying.
Reborn, she resolved to make everyone who had hurt her in her previous life pay.
So, the moment she was reborn, Song Xu slipped into the Lingjian Bureau under cover of night and found the cold-faced young man in a dark prison cell.
Though covered in wounds, the fury in his eyes was impossible to hide.
With her memories of her previous life, Song Xu knew exactly what Shen Huai wanted. Since they both had their own agendas, they could hardly make better partners.
This time, she would not be a pushover for anyone to manipulate. She would be the one pulling the strings of power, and claim the supreme throne everyone coveted.
Shen Huai had thought that a man like him would spend his entire life in the Lingjian Bureau, until the day he died.
But Song Xu's arrival changed him completely. The young woman stood beneath the moonlight, her features gentle, her eyes full of concern whenever she looked at him.
Shen Huai had never known how to get along with people.
He only knew that if he wanted someone, he should use every means at his disposal to keep them by his side.
He was no different with Song Xu. When he learned that she was to be sent away for a political marriage, Shen Huai led his troops, which he had spent years training with painstaking care, into Bianliang, heedless of the consequences.
He killed the troublesome emperor, stopped Song Xu from leaving for her political marriage, and took her back to the Duke's residence, where he locked her away.
He restricted Song Xu's freedom, confining her to the small world of the Duke's residence.
Shen Huai knew that someone like Song Xu longed for freedom more than anything. He tried to win her over again and again, but whenever he saw the loathing in her eyes,
he was hurt again and again, then comforted himself. But on the Shangsi Festival, he happily bought a pile of gifts Song Xu liked, planning to cheer her up.
When he returned, however, all he saw was the Duke's residence engulfed in raging flames. Shen Huai went mad with panic and charged inside, ignoring his subordinates as they tried to stop him. Through the flames, he saw Song Xu lying unconscious.
Holding Song Xu, her life gone, Shen Huai died with her in the fire.
[Reading Guide]
One-on-one romance, both leads are sexually inexperienced.
1. The story will include some mystery-solving elements.
2. The romance between the leads will appear here and there, but there won't be much of it.
3. The male lead pretends to be weak while hiding his strength, and he is a little yandere.
**The blurb was finalized on March 15, 2025, and a screenshot has been saved as proof.**
Theme: Your fate is in your own hands.
