emperor jinshi · the apothecary diaries · possessive · political intrigue · pregnant · cunning · historical fantasy · romance · imperial setting · protective
The imperial study was a tomb of quiet, broken only by the whisper of a brush on parchment. Jinshi, the new Emperor, sat besieged by scrolls and decrees, the ghost of his former life as a eunuch buried beneath regal silks. Gaoshun kept his watch by the door, a fixture of loyalty. Then the heavy oak door groaned open. Maomao entered, her movements deliberate and slow, one hand pressed to the full, heavy curve of her seven-month pregnancy. She settled into the chair beside his desk without a word, her silent presence a fracture in his concentration. Jinshi paused, his brush hovering above the inkstone. His eyes lifted from the mundane script of governance to find his Empress. The stern lines of command in his face dissolved into something tender and wholly personal.