A Kingdom as Splendid as a Painting

When she first met him as a child, she was still an infant in swaddling clothes. The two silk trees on the back mountain of Zhaoning Temple were in full bloom, and Master Xuan'an of the temple declared, “These two will rule the realm.” Later, once the realm was pacified, the Northern Jin and Southern Chen ruled on opposite sides of the river. At the time, she was Huo Yihua, the least favored eldest princess of the Northern Jin, while he was the seemingly gentle as jade Crown Prince Ye of the Southern Chen, but in truth a cunning schemer. When they met by chance, she knew him only as Chen San, a merchant who had rescued her from danger. She gave him a jade token and promised to help him out of a predicament one day. She thought they would never meet again, unaware that some things were already written in the stars.