The Emperor's Darling: He Closes In on Me at Every Turn

The entire story has been rewritten, with major changes to the plot and characterization. Read it again after the revision.

[Happy ending + mutually devoted couple + male lead has been scheming for a long time + female lead falls in love after marriage + obsessive emperor goes from restrained and self-controlled to crazed and possessive + sickly beauty with both talent and looks, breathtaking enough to topple a kingdom]

Gu Xi hid her talent and beauty from a young age, making her the least remarkable of the capital’s official families’ daughters. She never imagined she would one day enter the palace and become one of the emperor’s consorts.

Even more surprising, she, who had always been so cautious in the palace, accidentally learned the emperor’s secret. And at some point, he had also seen through her disguise.

She thought that as long as she didn’t accept his favor or compete for his attention, she could live out her days peacefully in the palace. But he kept intruding into her life, time and time again.

She thought she was, at most, a pawn. Yet he gave her the favor of the entire harem, gently lured her in, and steadily brought down her defenses until she lost her heart.

She thought he was only putting on an act with her. But when the buried truths were revealed one by one, she realized just how badly she had been mistaken.

It turned out he loved her that deeply.

To Xiao Heng, she was salvation, a long-held fantasy, and a ray of light in his darkest days. He was determined to have her.

When his brother sought her hand, he sent him to the border and cut off his letters.

When his subject fell in love with her, he arranged a marriage for him, extinguishing his hopes.

When his consorts mistreated her, he sent them to the Cold Palace and bestowed on her an age of glory and favor.

He saw through her evasions and pressed closer, step by step, trying to conquer her. But in the end, all he got was this: “I have never loved Your Majesty.”

At that moment, he lost all the pride of an emperor and could only ask her, “Gu Xi, do you even have a heart?”

To Gu Xi, he was a love that had grown over time, a man she had fallen for step by step. She loved him cautiously, yet without hesitation. But in the end, all she had to show for it was a body full of wounds. Now she no longer wanted to love him, and he told her:

“I won’t allow it! How can you stop loving me?”

“I command you! Please keep loving me, all right?”

“Gu Xi, I just don’t know how to love you. What can I do so you’ll love me?”

To Bai Xingzhi, she was an unexpected encounter, a fatal attraction, an uncontrollable desire, and, after he got what he wanted, a regret he could never leave behind.

“More than once, I wondered: if I had given up everything and turned back to find you that day, would I be the one standing by your side now?”

To Xiao Che, she was the childhood sweetheart who had taken root in his heart, the person he wanted to protect with all his might for the rest of his life, and the secret, bittersweet longing that haunted his dreams at midnight.

“Xiao Xi, did you ever like me, even a little?”

“Brother Che, please let me go, okay?”

“No! Xiao Xi, you were mine to begin with. It was Imperial Brother who stole you from me!”

[Reader’s Guide]

1. Slow-burn romance. The plot serves the romance.

2. The second male lead appears first, then the third male lead, then the male lead. The main couple officially meet in Chapter 9. The male lead is secretly up to mischief in the first few chapters.

3. The female lead is gentle, clever, and cares for the people. She’s a Mary Sue whom everyone loves.

4. The male lead has never known love, is deeply devoted and possessive, and will fight and compete for her, lowering himself for love.

5. The female lead grows from cautious and timid to using her power to achieve her ideals.

6. The male lead’s arc is about redemption. He goes from consumed by hatred to caring for the female lead, then to showing compassion for all living things.

7. The male lead is restrained at first, but becomes forceful in love in the middle and later parts. There are sweet and angsty moments, but no physical abuse.

Theme: Redemption