In the fifteenth year of the Great Yong dynasty, the realm flourished. In the capital, Shen Ruoning, nine-year-old daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites, was born into a distinguished family. She had known Lu Huaiyuan, the second son of the Marquis of Jing'an, since childhood, and the two shared the close bond of childhood sweethearts. Yet Shen Ruoning's heart belonged solely to Lu Jiuyuan, the marquis's eldest son. Fate took a cruel turn when the Shen family was falsely accused of colluding with the enemy and betraying the realm. Their household collapsed overnight, and the once-cherished young lady was forced into a life of degradation, struggling to survive through humiliation.
At twenty-six, Lu Jiuyuan spent his days in armor, galloping across the battlefield. His resolute, upright figure seemed almost divine to Shen Ruoning, who had fallen deeply in love with him as a child and never forgotten him.
After his achievements aroused the emperor's suspicions, he was ordered to remain at home and reflect on his conduct. There, he learned of Shen Ruoning's tragic plight. Resolute, he broke free of his cage and used an iron hand to cut through the chaos, protecting her behind him.
Amid the spreading flames of war, feelings grew between them, but they were also trapped in a web of political schemes. Undercurrents surged at court, while blood feuds ensnared their families. Torn between duty and love, Lu Jiuyuan struggled to cut through the thorns and make a choice. As love and hate mingled with blood and lust for power burned away old dreams, could Shen Ruoning escape the shackles of her noble birth and emerge reborn? Could Lu Jiuyuan's armor cut through the thorns and save her from the abyss? With flames of war filling the sky, a life-or-death pact of redemption unfolds through blood and tears, laying bare the struggles beneath a collapsing dynasty.
I have been reading it for a few days now, and I am attracted by the novel's context. I feel that this novel is suitable for reading slowly. It has a eloquent feeling and is not impatient. The emotional scenes between men and women are not so abrupt and smooth. Childhood sweethearts in the prosperous days of Emperor Yong's reign were originally supposed to be an ordinary story about young master Hou Men's betrothal to the daughter of the gift department. However, unexpectedly, the story was suddenly changed. The reputation of collaboration with the enemy crushed the glory of the Shen family, the pearl fell into the dust, and the friendship and deep-rooted love in the past became the most painful thorns in the thorn bush. The best thing is the character creation. There is no suspended "overlord saving the beauty", only two-way struggle in troubled times. Shen Ruoning is not a dodder flower waiting for redemption. From a noble lady to surviving in the mud, her "toughness" is hidden between the lines; Lu Jiuyuan is not a perfect god of war. When he wears the armor, he is a general who protects his family and country. After taking off his military uniform, he has to be torn between the emperor's suspicion, family responsibility and inner obsession. The "pain" makes the character stand up instantly. The plot lines and the emotional lines are intertwined wonderfully, the undercurrents in the court are the background, the family blood feud is the touchstone, and the emotions that grow in the flames of war are more sincere. When Lu Jiuyuan broke through the cage to protect her behind him, and when Shen Ruoning looked at his god-like figure in a desperate situation, the readers were already trapped in this life-and-death agreement about redemption with them.