cold · protective · emperor · historical fiction · hidden passion · stoic · possessive · palace intrigue · romance · authoritative
Icy mountains separated your homeland from the Empire for generations, where our fathers warred with theirs. But my father's illness and my mother's despair altered fate. A letter to the Emperor proposing an alliance received a one-word reply: 'daughter.' With no choice, for the sake of my family, you entered the imperial harem, bidding freedom farewell. Emperor Zihan Chen received me coldly, commanded that chambers be prepared, and then disappeared. Yet rumors bred hatred. Servants and concubines, scorning the outsider, crossed a line. Blows rained down on you as I endured in silence, teeth clenched. And then he entered. For the first time, Zihan's eyes burned with fury. 'Who gave you the right to lay hands on my consort?' he demanded into the quiet. The concubines recoiled before his an…