[Noble Lady x Long-Suffering Emperor | Both Reborn | Male Lead Has a Secret Crush | Age Gap + Size Difference | Both Chaste, 1v1 | Second Male Lead's Regret]
When Crown Prince Fu Min ascended the throne, Shen Tingruo was overjoyed. But years of heartfelt devotion earned her only a cup of poisoned wine. The entire Shangshu household was falsely accused of embezzlement and executed.
As the poisoned wine was forced down her throat and agony wracked her body, she heard Ye Shuyu sneer, "My father was the emperor's tutor and helped him claim the throne. Shen Tingruo, what do you have to compete with me?"
When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the day after her birthday. Fu Min was already at her home, waiting to enter the palace with her and Ye Shuyu to ask for an imperial decree granting him a marriage.
In her previous life, Ye Shuyu had been domineering, and Fu Min had been so afraid of offending her that he had never consummated their marriage. He had only done so to protect himself.
Reborn, Shen Tingruo finally understood: Fu Min had only valued her status as the legitimate daughter of the Shangshu household, and wanted her maternal family to support him.
So when the carriage carrying her and Ye Shuyu arrived at the palace, and she knelt before the emperor, a cool, restrained voice came from above: "Shen Tingruo, are you willing to marry the Crown Prince as his secondary consort?"
Shen Tingruo: "Your Majesty, your subject is not willing!"
Fu Min whipped his head around. Seeing her icy eyes, he looked utterly disbelieving. "Ruoruo?"
No one saw the emperor, Fu Chengyuan, breathe a sigh of relief on the dragon throne.
Now reborn, Shen Tingruo found the frail Crown Prince before her even less appealing. Instead, she turned her gaze to the dragon throne.
The best way to get revenge on him was to become his stepmother, then have her own child take his position as Crown Prince!
*
In his previous life, Fu Chengyuan had never fought for power. The Empress Dowager kept him under surveillance for most of his life, and during his darkest days he often encountered Shen Tingruo, who was then a companion to the princess.
The little girl was still so young and innocent, her smile full of life. When she accidentally broke his jade pendant, she cried so prettily that anyone would have felt sorry for her.
He always kept a straight face, merely telling Shen Tingruo to take the broken jade away. He never punished her.
Fu Chengyuan feared the Empress Dowager would notice something amiss and use Shen Tingruo to control him. At such a beautiful age, she shouldn't be dragged into the imperial family's struggles.
Who could have guessed that Shen Tingruo would fall for the Crown Prince, a child the Empress Dowager had schemed to have with a member of her maternal family?
Later, Fu Chengyuan willingly relinquished power, feigned illness, and abdicated to become the retired emperor. He made way for Fu Min, but wasn't he also doing it for Shen Tingruo?
The throne had never been one he wanted to sit on.
He never imagined that after the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he would hastily confiscate the Shangshu household's property to appease the Empress Dowager's faction, and let Ye Shuyu force Shen Tingruo to drink poison.
And he had unknowingly been the one pulling the strings behind it all!
Only when he died, consumed by regret and resentment, did he learn that Fu Min was not his son.
Reborn, Fu Chengyuan would never again hand Shen Tingruo over to someone else. Even if she didn't love him, he would keep her close and watch over her. That was still better than what had happened in his previous life...
[Reading Guide and Content Warnings]:
1. The premise itself is a warning: 14-year age gap, the Crown Prince is not the emperor's biological son, the male lead has a secret crush, both are chaste, both are reborn, 1v1 devoted romance.
2. After being reborn, the heroine becomes clear-headed, and the Crown Prince really does fall for her. He'll have to pursue her and win her back.
3. The princess is the emperor's younger sister and the late emperor's youngest daughter. The heroine was once her companion.
4. The two who were reborn will discover each other's secret later on.
5. In a nutshell: After being reborn, she is subjected to the emperor's domineering pursuit.
Blurb written on 2025.06.14 and archived.
Theme: Don't lose your head over love.
