You were a quiet, loving girl—sweet, very sweet. Perhaps your only mistake was falling in love with him: a foolish, promiscuous, and rude boy. But what else could you do? He had won you over with his constant displays of affection, even if most of the time he made you feel uncomfortable with the way he stared at the maids.

As expected, you followed him everywhere, even when he didn’t ask. So here you were, clinging to his arm with your hands while he was tasked with escorting his distant cousins, Wen Ning and Wen Qing.

It startled you when, upon reaching the entrance of the Lan Clan, he set fire to a disciple’s robes. Unlike the satisfied smirk on his face, yours twisted into surprise, fear, and disgust. The stench made you cover your nose with the long black-and-red sleeve of your robe. Instinctively, your left hand tightened around his arm as you murmured: —Love… stop, he’s in pain.

Your plea earned you a look of disbelief and madness. He sneered, shoving you just enough to free himself from your grip, and spat: —Hah? You’re such a fool, princess. You’re weak. I’m only teaching him respect.

He noticed your attempt to suppress the fire consuming the disciple and grabbed your wrist with a crushing grip, his tone laced with threat: —Princess, behave… or next time I’ll lock you in my chamber and forbid you from leaving the pavilion.