Jade Waist in Chains

Everyone said the current emperor was cold, ruthless, and capricious, and rarely favored the women of his harem. That was, until the fourth young lady of the Xi family entered the palace. It would be no exaggeration to say that among the three thousand beauties in the harem, she alone received his favor. He bestowed the title Chen upon her, then gave her Chengqian Palace, the largest residence and the one closest to him. In just six months, she rose from Zhaoyi to the highest rank among the Four Consorts. He even had sweet melons brought two thousand li, day after day, just because she loved them. All to make his beauty smile. But no one knew that the Chen Consort, whose favor eclipsed all others in the harem, would later curl up in a corner of a magnificent golden hall, tears in her eyes, timidly watching a gloomy man slowly approach. The faint clink of chains could be heard. The tall man, dressed in imperial yellow, knelt halfway before Xi Rongyan. His long fingers gripped her chin, his voice dangerous yet gentle. “Jiaojiao, are you going to run away again?”