Snow Falls on Zeyian

[Character Setup: A powerful, slightly unhinged and ruthless empress dowager ✖️ A former gentle, now secretly ruthless hostage prince from an enemy kingdom]

The empress dowager rescued the tortured hostage prince. Everyone at court knew that his features bore some resemblance to the late emperor, whom the empress dowager had killed with her own hands. Rumor had it that Her Majesty, high above all others, treated the hostage prince from Great Zhou as a stand-in for the late emperor, spoiling him endlessly and granting his every wish. Later, leaning against one of the palace's long pillars, the empress dowager laughed with wild abandon, utterly unlike her usual dignified self. She tempted him, saying, "Your Highness, why not go back and claim the throne of Great Zhou for me?" The prince smiled at her, his eyes dark and gentle. "Whatever Your Majesty desires, Zeyan will make it happen."

A slightly unconventional little story about healing. The male lead is much weaker than the female lead early on and grows slowly. It's not quite a female-led power fantasy, but she is stronger. The romance progresses a little slowly because the female lead is focused mainly on her career. Both leads are virgins. The late emperor was a hopeless romantic who loved someone else, not the female lead. At heart, this isn't a particularly dark court intrigue story, but a sweet romance (or so the author thinks). This is my first time writing, so I'm not sure if it can have a happy ending, but I'll try my best.