At the age of eight, the entire Nan family army was wiped out. Overnight, Nan Zhi became an orphan, and it was Lu Hengzhi who raised her with his own hands.
He was seven years older than her. Their grandfathers had been sworn brothers, so by seniority she should have called him “Uncle.”
He cherished and spoiled her, yet she stubbornly chased after Xie Jin every single day instead.
Unexpectedly, on their wedding day, Xie Jin publicly demoted his wife to a concubine, then abandoned her on their wedding night and left without a trace.
That very night, a fire broke out in the manor. Flames soared into the sky, greedily licking at her skirts.
Amid the blood-red blaze, Lu Hengzhi—who was supposed to be thousands of miles away from the capital—rushed into the inferno in a miserable state. Kneeling in the sea of fire, he held her tightly in his arms.
“Zhizhi, don’t be afraid. Your uncle is here.”
—
When Nan Zhi opened her eyes again, she had returned to the day she climbed into Xie Jin’s bed.
This time, she wasn’t doing it anymore.
Instead, she turned around and clung tightly to Lu Hengzhi, her voice soft and sweet:
“Uncle, I was wrong…”
Delicate and soft by nature, Nan Zhi’s sudden obedience and tenderness toward him was something Lu Hengzhi had never imagined.
Nor had he expected the forbidden desire he harbored for her to spiral so completely out of control.
—
In the sacred grounds before the gods and Buddhas, Xie Jin knelt in prayer, begging the heavens to let Nan Zhi love him once more.
Behind the Buddha statue, Lu Hengzhi pinned Nan Zhi against the altar, biting lightly at her ear, jealous and possessive.
“Zhizhi is so good. Louder now—tell the gods and Buddhas that you belong to me.”
