Chen Ming'an was the top scorer Zhu Huaizhen, the Princess Ronghua, had fallen for at first sight in the Golden Hall.
But he turned down the marriage decree.
“Your Highness, once I have made my name as a scholar, will you marry me?”
So Zhu Huaizhen waited five years for Chen Ming'an.
During those five years, Chen Ming'an took blades meant for her, crawled beneath bandits, and knelt before every bodhisattva in the city. Who didn't say that Chen Ming'an loved Princess Ronghua beyond reason?
She, meanwhile, gave away her fortune, won people over, and paved his road to success.
But once he rose to the position of chancellor, he threw open the city gates and welcomed the enemy army, ruining her wedding night.
