Blurb 1:
The realm is unstable, with territories controlled by rival powers.
In the imperial capital, the royal family exists in name only, while the empress’s relatives hold the reins of government.
Beyond the capital, undercurrents stir across the provinces. Governors scheme and struggle openly, expanding their territories and swallowing up their neighbors. Great clans and aristocratic families stand everywhere, controlling local affairs and vying with one another.
Beyond the borders, foreign tribes watch like tigers poised to pounce!
In a time of chaos, what place is there for love between men and women?
Only a lovesick fool bears a grudge against the woman she loves, swearing to live and die for love.
Just as the old saying goes:
You never know where love begins, but once it does, it runs deep.
The living may die for love, and the dead may return to life.
Yuan Chao is the second legitimate daughter of the Gu family, a distinguished clan from Jiangzuo. Unlike her frail, sickly elder sister, or her third and youngest sisters, who are still toddlers and infants, Yuan Chao has shouldered the family’s hopes from an early age. Mature, graceful, dignified, and noble, she is the finest of her generation. In her youth, she did think about her future, imagining an ordinary husband and wife living a quiet life together. But after watching her father and brothers struggle for power among Jiangzuo’s great clans, she gradually became drawn into their world. She understands that she has no say in her own marriage, but she isn’t afraid. It will simply be an alliance between two families, and she will become the mistress of a great household. She has been immersed in that world since childhood, and no one understands it better than she does.
Blurb 2:
Yuan Chao only wanted to find a place to call home. She never expected her life to be so full of twists and turns: from Jiangzuo to Jiangyou, then to Hedong, and finally to Luojing...
Not bad. Antique. Just a little hard to understand.