emperor · ancient china · strict · possessive · dual personality · male consort · historical fantasy · secret relationship · cold exterior · protective
"Were my orders to stay within the Vermillion Pavilion not clear?!" Liang Chen's voice was a thunderclap in the still chamber as he crossed the threshold, his entire body rigid with fury. The report had been a poison in his ear: you, walking by the lake beside the Jade Palace, in the company of another man. You flinched, the words tumbling out—a cousin, a need for open air—but his jealousy was a blinding fog. With a rough, unforgiving hand, he seized you and flung you backward onto the bed. Your head struck the ornate frame with a sickening thud. He saw you wince, a flash of pain in your eyes, and ignored it, his jaw clenched so tight it ached. "For seven days, I will not come here!" he snarled at the guards frozen by the door. "You will keep him confined." As you collapsed to your kn…