The new emperor's first decree upon ascending the throne was to forcibly take his cousin as his

The Eastern Palace was truly Ruan Xianrong's nightmare.

When she was a child, she was a frequent visitor to the Eastern Palace when she went to study there.

Xie Chengyan always used various excuses to keep her in the East Palace.

I never imagined that now that I'm all grown up, I'd still have to come to this place.

Good heavens, if she is guilty, let the law punish her. Why should she suffer this torment?

She was the laziest among those who went to the palace to study, yet he was fixated on her alone. Wasn't that just targeting her?

She really just wanted to lie down and did nothing.

Upon entering the East Palace, it was lunchtime. The meal was already laid out, all of which were her favorite dishes, but they tasted bland.

Xie Chengyan would occasionally put food on her plate, and the girl's cheeks would bulge out as she ate, looking just like a little rabbit chewing on vegetable leaves.

A grain of rice stuck to her lips, and she subconsciously stuck out her tongue and curled it back. Her usually calm eyes darkened, and a warmth welled up in her heart.

If that soft, pink tongue were to lick his body...

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his eyes darkened, and it took him a long time to suppress the burning heat.

After finishing her meal, Ruan Xianrong went for a walk, cleared her head a bit, and took a deep breath.

After she turned eleven, she would never come to the East Palace again, and today, coming in again, she felt as if she had been in another world.

She walked around the lake and saw a cage on the shore with a snow-white rabbit inside blinking at her.

"rabbit?"

My first reaction wasn't surprise, but astonishment.

This is unbelievable! There are rabbits in the Eastern Palace?

She squatted down and teased the rabbit, which was only a month old. When it saw her reach in, it even came over and sucked on her fingertips.

"Fair-skinned and chubby, quite cute."

I don't know how long I can live.

She didn't believe the man wanted to raise rabbits; he just wanted to eat rabbit meat.

So engrossed in playing with the rabbit, he didn't notice the figure standing behind him for quite some time.

Xie Chengyan lowered his eyes, somewhat regretting finding her this rabbit.

It's just a rabbit, is it really that good?

It's so good that I didn't even realize he was here for so long, so good that I wasted so much time on him.

Ruan Xianrong had been squatting for a while, and her legs felt numb and weak when she stood up. Her body went limp, and Xie Chengyan pulled her into his arms. "Are you alright?"

Listen to that gentle voice. If you didn't know him, you'd think he was a kind, considerate, and easy-going person.

Even his brothers didn't know how ruthless he was inside.

Until the struggle for the throne, he cut off people's hands and feet, cut off their tongues and noses, and fed them to wolves before they were even dead.

She quickly pulled away from his embrace, forcing a smile, "I'm fine."

Xie Chengyan led her into the study. The place hadn't changed much since she was a child, but she used to be punished here every time, and those memories weren't pleasant.

Xie Chengyan used to treat everyone the same way: he was gentle on the surface, but actually he didn't want to meddle in other people's business.

I don't know when it started, but his attitude towards her changed drastically, and he only ever targeted her for his own mischief.

Why is she so unlucky?

Xie Chengyan took a book from the bookshelf and handed it to her.

"I still have official business to attend to. If you are tired, you can rest on the low couch."

Ruan Xianrong nodded in agreement. Could she possibly understand his book?

With the sandalwood incense burning in the hall, the more I looked, the more drowsy I became.

My eyelids started to droop, and I don't know when I fell asleep.

Soon after, light footsteps approached, and a tall, upright figure stood beside the low couch.

After standing there for an unknown amount of time, Xie Chengyan finally made a move, slowly sitting down beside her and letting her lean against him.

His gaze traced her silhouette, wanting to imprint her deeply in his heart.

She slept in his arms, so close to him.

A strand of black hair fell down, landing right on the back of his hand. His eyelashes trembled slightly, casting a shadow on his fair and tender cheek. His lips were like a budding red peony, so soft that they seemed to drip nectar with the slightest touch.

He smiled, but dared not laugh out loud, for fear of breaking her gentle demeanor.

But the laughter was tinged with madness, and the nature hidden deep within was no longer restrained, spreading throughout the quiet hall, both dangerous and exhilarating.

Before him lay his beloved, sleeping peacefully and softly, even her breathing seemed to bewitch him.

His eyes darkened, and he finally couldn't resist leaning down, his thin lips resting on her neck, inhaling her sweet fragrance.

The smile at the corners of his mouth deepened, lingering on her lips with a greedy, almost manic intensity.

He fell asleep every night looking at her paintings, cuddling her clothes, and dreaming of her constantly; he was driven mad by his longing.

He wished he could imprison her in the East Palace right now and never let her out for the rest of her life, but he was also afraid that things would get out of control.

If she could just look at him a little longer, he would live and die for her.

Even if it means kneeling down and becoming a dog wagging its tail at her feet.

But she must belong to him, for all eternity.

He stroked her slender wrist, following the interlocking of their fingers, and recalled how the rabbit had sucked on her fingertip, and then, as if in revenge, did the same thing.

I lowered my head and pressed my lips to those red lips, but it still wasn't enough...

Ruan Xianrong had a dream.

In her dream, a wolf chased and bit her relentlessly, licking her until she was covered in saliva, all wet and sticky.

When she opened her eyes again, she met Yinque's gaze.

"Is the young lady awake?"

She glanced around and realized she was no longer in the East Palace.

She was swaying beneath her, and tried to sit up to look outside, but found herself feeling uncomfortable all over, as if she had been sweating.

Yinque said that it was Granny Yu, who served the Empress, who brought her out. She was asleep, so she was not disturbed.

"How did I fall asleep?"

Yinque shook her head. "Granny Yu only said that the young lady must be tired and was sleeping soundly."

Ruan Xianrong was puzzled. Wasn't she in the East Palace? Why were they letting her go so easily?

He breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, as long as he didn't have to stay in the Eastern Palace, anything was fine.

Her life motto is: stay away from the male and female leads, and I'll have all the happiness I need.

However... when the female lead returns, there will probably be bloodshed again.

The male protagonist is inherently suspicious, and the moment the female protagonist enters his heart, it marks the beginning of the Ruan family's misfortune.

The male lead was also behind the many deaths and injuries in the Ruan family later on. After the female lead learned the truth, she broke up with the male lead, but ultimately chose to forgive him.

After the hatred of losing his family and the pain of separation by death, the male protagonist actually said, "If you can't even accept these things, you still don't love me enough."

In the end, the female lead struggled in every way, and they got a happy ending.

She felt a wave of dizziness, overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness that she couldn't penetrate the book's pages.

If such a lunatic appeared in front of you, wouldn't you be scared?