The Ashen Palace Chronicle
On the Lantern Festival night of the thirteenth year of Yuanqi, the Gu family mansion, home to the empire’s guardian general, was wiped out, its flames turning the capital red. Twelve-year-old Gu Qingcheng was rescued by a loyal servant. Clutching half of the Dustfall Jade, she swore revenge amid a sea of blood.
Ten years later, she entered the palace under the assumed name Su Jin, bringing with her the medical and poison arts, sorcery, and stratagems she had learned at Qingya. The pampered girl of the past had become a blade. Using her peerless beauty as bait, she maneuvered between the suspicious and calculating Emperor Xiao Che and Wei Yong, the powerful chancellor who had framed the Gu family. The inner palace was treacherous, and the court was fraught with intrigue. She proceeded with caution at every turn, only to discover that the “Masked Young Master” of the northern frontier was her elder brother, Gu Mochen, whom she had believed dead. The siblings were reunited, and their jade pendants fit together once more, revealing an even crueler truth: Xiao Che had allowed the massacre to happen.
On her path to revenge, the easygoing Seventh Prince Xiao Heng repeatedly came to her aid, a deeper meaning hidden in his gentle eyes. Was he using her, or were his feelings genuine? As her hatred neared its end and her brother’s safety became entangled with the stirrings of her heart, she finally understood that “conquering all under heaven” did not mean overthrowing the empire. It meant protecting those she wished to protect and finding her final destination.
This is a palace lament woven from blood and tears, a legend reborn from the ashes. When the dust settled, the reflection in the jade pendant showed the satisfaction of avenged family, the warmth of siblings reunited, and the joy of holding hands with the one she loved. With beauty that could topple a city, she brought her enemies’ city to ruin. Ten years in ashes, in exchange for a lifetime of peace.
