[Strictly historical romance, a mentally tormented, mad-dog of a young nobleman ✖️ a coldhearted, hard-edged, ill-fated noblewoman, both pure]
One is a young nobleman mired in injustice, demoted and consumed by thoughts of revenge.
The other is a fallen emperor, biding his time with patience and deep cunning.
And Qin Zhen is a noblewoman from a prestigious family, regarded as a puppet and a disposable pawn, a disgrace to her clan.
The three were never meant to cross paths, yet one wrongful case, one moment of compassion, and one act of exploitation bound them tightly together.
After three years in exile, the young nobleman Yuwen Xuan has only just returned to Chang'an when he beats a common woman in the street. Arrogant and brazen, he shows no respect even for his uncle, the emperor.
By day, he is the dissolute young heir to the regent. But at night, too poor to afford new clothes, he assumes the identity of the master of the Shadow Pavilion and takes assassination jobs wherever he can find them to support the entire estate.
As for Qin Zhen, she visits him three times, even stripping off her clothes and threatening him with her reputation to make him kill everyone in the Qin family.
Little does she know that after he does everything she asked, she turns around and enters the palace as the lone survivor of the Qin family.
It is only on her wedding day, inside the Jiaofang Palace, that Qin Zhen discovers the truth: the master who had so carefully taught her was none other than Emperor Yuwen Na.
Qin Zhen believes she has lost everything in this deceitful game. Yet the two men who should never have fallen for her are both the first to lose their composure.
Yuwen Xuan demands, “Didn’t you already give yourself to me? Why are you marrying someone else now?”
Yuwen Na’s eyes redden, and he looks utterly pitiful. “If you love your dear nephew more, I will set you free.”
I originally thought it was a very interesting book, but maybe I just thought that the heroine's sister was too much. I thought it would be easy for the heroine's sister to die. The emperor liked the heroine and sent people to watch over the heroine. The heroine knows martial arts. The current plot makes me feel that I can not be bullied, but I still suffer, because I feel that the gold or care that the second hero gives to the heroine is not as good as letting the second hero use his own ability to kill the heroine's sister and directly solve the problem at the root.