Where This Mortal Life Ends, Your Heart Stirs

(Reverse harem, fictional dynasty, fated bonds, heroine’s growth)

She is the seventh daughter of the Shen family. Amid the flames of a turbulent age, she is the most beautiful firework of all: brief, radiant, unforgettable.

When the wind sweeps red begonias across the city towers, the figures she once thought were only passing through her life have woven a web of love over the years. One man would gladly sink into the dust for her, another has pursued her across two lifetimes, and another has knelt before Buddha for three thousand days and nights. But whose wrist will the red thread at her fingertips ultimately bind itself to?

Shen Muhuai, heir to the Duke of Shen’s household and a paragon among the capital’s noble families, is also her elder brother. He knows he should not love her, but does so anyway, holding his feelings in check even as he knowingly sinks deeper.

Xie Huaian rises from a poor scholar to an emperor’s chief minister. In his previous life, she was the impossible dream he never dared pursue. In this life, he plots and schemes in every way he can, at last winning the chance to accompany her for a time.

Mu Chenyuan, emperor who unifies the realm, loves her with understanding and acceptance. He guides her as she grows, and their first meeting seals their entanglement.

Lu Beiye knows meeting her will be a calamity, yet welcomes it all the same. Their first encounter is beautiful, and his love burns fiercely. He spends year after year guarding the memories they made.

Xiao Lin, the Great Qian war god, meets her like peach blossoms in March: beautiful, but fleeting. He teaches her to grow and to shoot a bow. Later, she safeguards his retreat while he protects Great Qian.