Shen Yinning lost everything when her father and brother's treachery branded her a criminal's daughter. Cast out to Gan State, she was forced into marriage with a minor official, watching from afar as Crown Prince Lu Ying took her cousin Shen Yunxi as his Crown Princess Consort. The court celebrated their perfect union, a picture of harmony and devotion. Three years pass before fate draws Shen Yinning back to the Capital alongside her husband. Her cousin never misses an opportunity to flaunt her position and the Crown Prince's affection, each boast a deliberate wound. But beneath Lu Ying's composed exterior and reputation for propriety lies an obsession Shen Yunxi will never know. Every night, the Crown Prince abandons all pretense of honor, slipping into Shen Yinning's chambers to claim what he refuses to release—his Forbidden Fruit, bound by desire rather than duty.