Across the five hundred years of Great Chu, there has been only one female prince: the renowned Prince Xian.
But who would have guessed she was Princess Ningyue, the one who had “volunteered to marry for peace”? Emperor Chu Ling passed away, and Emperor Chu Xuan ascended the throne. She went to Western Xia for a political marriage and took three years to return to her homeland.
In the seventy-sixth year of Great Chu, Prince Xian turned eighteen. The Yuezhou rebellion had only just been put down when she was ordered to tour the region.
There, she saw him again. But this time, she was no longer the innocent princess she had once been. Her hands were stained with too much blood. Everyone said she was as cruel as a snake or scorpion. They were right.
She would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Ruthless and heartless, those qualities seemed to suit her perfectly.
And yet, there were always a few people who did everything they could to pull her back from the abyss.
Perhaps that was what redemption meant...
Then Western Xia sent its troops. Prince Xian led her army into battle, routing the Western tribes and keeping Great Chu safe and at peace.
She became a hero in the eyes of the people.
From her lofty place, she reached out her hand and invited him to face the rest of their lives together.
That day, magnolia petals blanketed the streets and lanes of the capital. The beautiful woman with a heart of stone willingly married beneath her station.
