As the only daughter in her family, Chu Zhaozhao was adored from childhood. She was also breathtakingly beautiful, with a face like a hibiscus blossom. At sixteen, she happened to meet Qi Jin and fell for him at first sight. To get close to him, she disguised herself as a man and entered the imperial court, only to discover that his heart already belonged to someone else. Fortunately, her own career in government flourished.
After joining the court, she quelled rebellions, reformed the imperial examinations, developed water conservancy, and improved people's livelihoods. Once Qi Jin ascended the throne, she helped reform the bureaucracy and championed equality between men and women.
As the new emperor's trusted confidante, she rose through the ranks by leaps and bounds after his coronation. She established her own office and household, enjoyed the privileges of the highest ministers, and attained a position of unparalleled power.
Qi Jin had witnessed his parents' loving relationship since childhood, as well as its eventual collapse.
He couldn't understand how a love that had once been so beautiful could simply disappear, as if one could stop loving someone at will.
As he grew older, he held fast to the belief that he should love only one person for life. In doing so, he overlooked someone else's feelings. When he finally came to his senses and looked back, she had already left.
His anger and despair eventually gave way to relief. He was glad she hadn't chosen him, glad she had found the person she truly loved, and grateful that she had once loved him so deeply.
When Pei Yanchu first met Chu Zhaozhao, he saw her injured and tumbling into a lake, looking utterly wretched. He rescued her, thinking she would leave once she woke up. He never expected her to cling to him instead.
He didn't know what she had been like before losing her memory, but he imagined she hadn't been much different. She seemed rather dim and impulsive, yet she was sincere with others and always protected him.
Watching her innocence and determination, he felt darkness begin to grow in his heart. Ignoring her amnesia, he coaxed and cajoled her, binding her tightly to his side.
