Rebel princess rejects cold heir 3 times, then learns his cruel plot secretly made her empress.

She smashed the imperial engagement jade and swore she’d rather cut her hair and live in seclusion than marry the cold-faced lord. 😱 The empress dowager has just granted the jade, and noble Zhao Lingxi throws it down in front of everyone. She declares she will never wed Xiao Jingyuan—the ruthless young lord every noble fears. The entire court waits for him to be humiliated. Instead, he storms her estate, pins her against the wall, and says, 'I have chosen you. You cannot escape me.' Then she plays every trick: a break-off contract, fake tears, tea thrown at him during a family banquet. He absorbs it all—then defends her in public like she is already his. The scholar rival is sent away. Her cousin is warned off by pure jealousy. And the man she keeps rejecting is not just a cold lord—he is the empire’s most feared strategist with a secret path to the dragon throne. Every rejection only makes him more determined to make her his empress. But when the second prince’s trap closes at the palace banquet, will she finally choose the man she swore to hate—or will the throne destroy them before love can win? 👇 Watch the full story now.