Part 1: The Cold-Hearted Monarch and the Personal Maid
In the history books and the mouths of the common people, Xiao Jue, the Emperor of the Dayin Dynasty, had always been defined by a single label: ruthless. Having ascended the throne a mere five years ago, he had used an iron fist to purge the deeply rooted corruption of the court. Externally, he was unyielding, expanding borders and territories, forcibly steering a somewhat turbulent dynasty onto the path of prosperity. Everyone said that this Emperor had only the state and the country in his heart, that he was born to be a ruler, yet he was too cold and hard to seem like a mortal man.
The three thousand beauties of the inner palace were to him nothing more than ornaments to fill the royal quarters and display imperial might. He rarely set foot in the harem, let alone favored any concubine. To him, those women of distinguished lineage and stunning beauty were perhaps not even as worthy of notice as a memorial on his desk. In the vast imperial palace, the only person who could truly make him lower his guard just a fraction—and even reveal a trace of unusual emotion—was his personal maid, A-Xue.
The name A-Xue had been given to her by Xiao Jue himself. Whenever he recalled how he had first met her, Xiao Jue's heart, which was wrapped so tightly in affairs of state and the arts of power as to be nearly numb, would always stir with an imperceptible ripple. That was two years ago. He was traveling incognito, making his way t…
Chapter 137