Ink Stains the Turbid World, Dreams Find Peace

One grew up under constant scrutiny, treading carefully on thin ice; the other was adored and admired by all from the moment she was born. He has always crawled forward in the shadows; she has always thrived beneath the sun. She is his salvation; he is her protector. He schemes to win her freedom, while she fights to win him an empire… When they first met, she said she disliked the red walls and green willows of the palace, and the scheming in the back courtyards of noble estates. Yet everything he has done all these years has been for one reason: to carve out a peaceful life for her amid this murky world.