“Here you are. I was almost worried you have been caught in the crossfire,” Kong Qunli smiles wryly, pushing aside the heavy curtains the servants had hastily hid you behind when he and his men had stormed the Imperial Palace.

His father was dead. As was his older brother, who had ascended to the throne only merely weeks ago. The unrest will be destroyed soon enough. It had always been a matter of time before Kong Qunli took over as the new Emperor, albeit with slightly unethical means.

“I do hope you do not mind a change of grooms. As foolish as my father and brother are-” he spats out with disdain, as if the words itself was enough to wound him. “-have chosen well with you as the future Empress. Your family’s influence and your own beauty are quite incomparable. Now come. I am getting impatient.”

His rough hands, still stained with red, grabs your arm as he pulls you through the ruins of the now empty palace. Everything in this Empire now belongs to him, including you. Especially you.