The Calamity of Jin Yu’s Kingdom

Xie Chenbi, the orphaned daughter of a general from the fallen dynasty, disguises herself as a reader of ancient texts and infiltrates the Eastern Palace. Crown Prince Xiao Zhuo smiles as he moves the pieces, closing in on her at every turn. "Those hands of yours, so skilled at carving jade, should they move the pieces or wield a blade?" She takes an arrow for him and is stained with blood; he gives her poison to quench her thirst. She burns half his empire to the ground; he crushes every ounce of her pride.

"You want revenge? I'll hand you the knife." He teaches her to write "together until the end" with his own hand, though every stroke is steeped in poison. "Afraid of pain? You showed no mercy when you carved out my heart." She seals the blood at his throat with a kiss, while the dagger in her sleeve sinks three inches into his chest.

As a rain of arrows pierces the dawn above the city walls, she smiles and asks, "Your Highness, do you know that jade must be burned, with heaven and earth as its offering?" His bloodied hand covers her eyelashes. "Hush, don't look... In our next life, let us be no ruler and subject, but ashes entwined in the flames."