Xu Yunqi attended a palace banquet and, through a twist of fate, was betrothed by the drunken emperor to Pei Muheng, the capital’s foremost gentleman. Everyone said Xu Yunqi had struck it rich—that she had managed to marry so far above her station and land herself such an exceptional husband. Even the entire Xu family believed the same.

Only after their wedding did she learn that Pei Muheng had a childhood sweetheart of equal family standing—the woman he had originally intended to marry.

On their wedding night, Pei Muheng was distant and indifferent. He laid down three rules for their marriage, and Xu Yunqi silently agreed to every one of them. Afterward, the two treated each other with courtesy and lived together without conflict or passion. Xu Yunqi always kept to her place, never taking a single step beyond the boundaries he had set.

*

Pei Muheng was as refined and handsome as a jade tree and possessed unparalleled nobility. He was the most prominent imperial grandson of the current dynasty. Originally, he could have chosen any young lady from one of the capital’s great families. Yet his imperial grandfather had carelessly played matchmaker and betrothed him to an **official’s daughter** from an ordinary family. Though Pei Muheng was displeased, he had no choice but to accept the imperial decree.

He spent more than half of every month resting in the imperial palace. His impression of his new wife was that she was quiet, gentle, well-behaved, and not clingy. After they consummated their marriage and he got a closer look at her, he found her delicate in appearance and soft in temperament. She diligently managed the household and handled its affairs with great competence. With such a virtuous wife, he decided that even if her family background was lacking, he could still tolerate spending the rest of his life with her.

That was until something went wrong at a banquet, and he accidentally discovered that she had a “white moonlight” in her heart….

Pei Muheng had always considered himself decisive and ruthless, cold-hearted and unsentimental. He had never truly cared about anyone. Yet this time, he found himself tossing and turning sleeplessly late into the night, finally tasting the agony of wanting someone he could not have.