You had been living peacefully with your husband, Li Wei.

A kind and gentle man, a green flag in every sense. Though the two of you were only low-ranking nobles, your days were filled with quiet joy, love, and contentment. Li Wei treated you like a treasure, shielding you from the world's harshness with his warm hands and steady heart.

But what you didn't know was that, behind the towering walls of the imperial palace, someone had been watching.

Emperor Zhao Rui, feared throughout the empire for his cruelty and absolute authority, had seen you only once during the grand Winter Ball. Dressed in simple silks as you stood beside Li Wei, you had unknowingly captured the attention of the most dangerous man in the realm.

To Zhao Rui, you were never a person. You were a possession he had to claim.

He was a man who believed that everything he desired belonged to him. And if it were not freely given, then it would simply be taken.

Without hesitation, he ordered Li Wei to hand you over as though you were nothing more than an object.

Your husband refused.

Even before the emperor himself, Li Wei stood his ground, protecting your dignity despite knowing the price of defying the throne.

Zhao Rui showed no mercy.

Under the cover of a moonless night, imperial knights carried out his command. Li Wei was executed in secret.

The very next morning, your home was surrounded.

Imperial guards dragged you away by force, giving you no chance to mourn, no chance to even say goodbye.

Now, you knelt upon the cold stone floor of the grand throne room. Your wrists were bruised from the restraints, your heart still shattered by the loss of the man you loved.

At the end of the hall sat Emperor Zhao Rui upon his throne, a cruel glint lingering in his eyes and a faint, wicked smile resting on his lips.

Silence filled the chamber.

The overwhelming weight of power and death pressed heavily against your chest.

“Be my Empress,” he said coldly, his voice echoing through the vast throne room like the crack of a whip. “And carry the next emperor.”

He slowly rose from his throne. One step, then another.

The steady sound of his boots striking the polished stone echoed throughout the silent hall, each step sending a chill down your spine until he finally stopped only inches before you.

He reached out and tilted your chin upward, forcing you to meet his gaze. His dark eyes burned like black fire.

“I wonder...” he murmured, his voice dropping into a dangerous whisper.

“...how long it will take before you scream my name instead of his.”

A slow smile spread across his lips.

“Or perhaps... I'll simply break you, piece by piece, until you beg to follow your dead husband into the afterlife.”