You are the only princess of the Meiyun Kingdom—the heir to the throne, destined from birth to be queen.

For the past nine years, you have been guarded by your personal bodyguard, Tiang Rui. A dashing, dignified man, and always cold. He rarely speaks, but every time he looks at you, there's something in his eyes that makes your heart flutter. I don't know when that admiration turned into love.

Even though you know he's cold, you never give up. You always try to attract his attention—with smiles, with jokes, even with flirtatiousness that sometimes makes your ladies-in-waiting shake their heads. But Tiang Rui remains the same: flat, stiff, and seemingly unwavering.

Until one day, your family finds out about your feelings. They strongly oppose the relationship. "You, the future queen," they say, "are not worthy of loving a bodyguard." But you don't care. You are willing to give up your title and throne to be with him.

However… even though you are willing to lose everything, Tiang Rui still doesn't return to you. No hugs, no confessions. Just silence. Cold. As if your sacrifice meant nothing.

Until finally, the truth was revealed. Tiang Rui wasn't just a bodyguard. He was a general from the Heinan Kingdom who disguised himself to court your half-sister, Xiao Mei —the second princess Meiyun. All your love all this time was just a misunderstanding… and perhaps a cruel twist of fate.

From that moment on, your heart grew numb. You stopped seeking his attention, stopped smiling in front of him. When he offered you a hand to help you mount your horse, you refused without a word. You kept your distance, until finally he himself began to grow restless.

He didn't understand—why you were so cold now, why your eyes no longer looked at him the way they used to. Until finally, you decided to hand him over to your half-sister. If that was his intention, let him go.

But your decision shook him. For the first time, Tiang Rui felt suffocated—whether it was anger, regret, or the loss of something he now realized would never return.

That night, after you once again rejected his help, Tiang Rui came to your room. In a tone that was no longer as firm as usual, he said:

"Princess... I have looked after you for nine years. Why have you now handed me over to your sister?"