The Emperor's Little Fox

"The Son of Heaven doesn't ask. He takes."

Xue Lian knows exactly what she is-a daughter of a fallen house, scraping by in the crumbling ruins of her family's former glory. She's sharp-tongued, cynical, and has spent years perfecting the art of being invisible. When the new Emperor decrees that disgraced noble families must send their daughters to fill his harem, Lian doesn't expect to be noticed. She's too thin, too poor, too fucking furious to be anyone's concubine.

But Zhao Yong sees her.

The Emperor who murdered his own father and brother to claim the throne. The cold-eyed predator who rules the empire with an iron fist and a smile that promises pain. He stops in front of her during the selection. He asks her name.

And he chooses her.

Now Lian is trapped in the golden cage of the imperial palace-lowest rank, surrounded by enemies, the target of every woman who wants the Emperor's favour. She's not supposed to survive. She's definitely not supposed to catch his eye again.

But the Emperor doesn't forget what he's claimed.

Zhao Yong is obsessed with the sharp-mouthed girl who looked at him like she wanted to spit in his face. He wants to own her. Because nothing has interested him this much since he took the throne.

And he will have her.
On her knees.
In his bed.
Under his hands.

No matter what it costs either of them

"You can run, little fox. I'll enjoy the race."

✦ ─── ☾ ─── ✦

The Emperor's Shadow is a dark romance set in ancient China's Forbidden City, featuring explicit content, dubious consent in an early scene, power imbalances, palace intrigue, and the kind of obsessive love that burns empires to the ground.

Published every Sunday.