After Provoking the Brooding Crown Prince, She Faked Her Death

[Complete] The next book, My Wife Zhenniang, is open for follows

[Possessive Love] [Younger Man] [Chasing His Wife to the Crematorium] [A Little Dog Training After They Reconcile]

A beautiful, tragic prince who turns dark and gloomy later × the daughter of a disgraced minister, gentle and resilient, with a heart of stone

In the first year of the Jingxuan era, Ning Xuan witnessed Crown Prince Zhong Yanru plot to usurp the throne, publicly claiming that the former emperor had ascended to immortality so he could take power with a clear conscience.

Afterward, the new emperor overturned the wrongful case against her family, clearing her of the stigma of being a disgraced minister's daughter, and even appointed her as a female official.

Back then, Ning Xuan had entered the palace as a maid to avoid disaster. Now that everything had settled, she had no interest in becoming a female official. She only wanted her freedom back.

Remembering how they had kept each other company during those years in hiding, she believed the new emperor would never refuse such a simple request.

She broached the matter gently, and he smiled faintly. Of course, he said, she could go.

Reassured by his promise, Ning Xuan felt at ease and spent the night dreaming sweetly.

But when she awoke groggily, the new emperor was standing beside her bed, his face shrouded in shadow.

"A Xuan, I'm so heartbroken." His gaze licked over her face like the cold tongue of a snake. "Why are you always thinking of leaving me?"

With that, he leaned over, blocking out the last sliver of moonlight.

Ning Xuan tried to flee in terror, only to look down and find a golden chain wrapped around her ankle.

The other end of the chain rested in Zhong Yanru's palm.

*

Zhong Yanru could not understand. He clearly did everything Ning Xuan asked, so why was she still unhappy?

Then he saw her outside the palace, walking beside another handsome, refined man and discussing the marriage arrangement they had once set aside.

Only then did Zhong Yanru realize that her heart had never belonged to him.

He had gone to great lengths to hide his claws, unwilling to frighten her. Instead, he had only encouraged her to push her luck.

So be it. Since she was the one who broke her vow first, Zhong Yanru thought, she could not blame him for keeping her locked by his side.

*

Trapped deep inside the palace, Ning Xuan became the emperor's caged bird.

Whenever she spoke an extra word to someone or smiled at them, they would all disappear the next day. It was obvious who was behind it.

She felt suffocated and pretended to take her own life to resist his coercion.

The emperor hurried over when he heard the news. Gently stroking her cheek with his thumb, he spoke words that chilled her to the bone: "I've had a golden coffin made for us. One day, you and I will be buried together anyway. How about I take you to see it?"

Ning Xuan was nearly speechless. "You're truly a madman."

*

Later, a deliberately started fire allowed Ning Xuan to escape the palace.

She knew Zhong Yanru would go mad over it, but she did not look back.

If only she had known he would be so difficult to shake, she would never have rashly provoked him in the first place.

Ning Xuan thought leaving the palace would free her from him, but the memories of their three years of desperate entanglement and tender intimacy with Zhong Yanru would not fade.

That obsessive, frenzied love had become branded into her bones.

Reading Guide:

☆ The early part is a slow, tender story of mutual salvation, very pure and devoted. Later, things become tumultuous. Neither of them hates the other for simple reasons: the male lead resents that the moon he loves shines on everyone but him, while the female lead resents him for personally tearing apart the tenderness of their shared past.

☆ This is not a typical possessive-love story. The male lead goes mad, then the female lead sets him straight, and he becomes obedient later on.

☆ This novel is also known as Locked Jade.

Theme: Hold fast to your convictions in adversity