Prisoner in the Brocade Tent

After learning how her story would end, Su Miaomiao finally understood. Rather than wind up imprisoned by power and desire, she would become the one who made the rules. With a single move, she became the unattainable ideal in the hearts of several madmen. They gave me gold chains; I gave them invisible shackles in return. They promised me the empress’s throne; I set my sights even higher. They offered an alliance; I smiled and claimed the entire game. On the night she was crowned empress, the frail younger brother she had raised with her own hands gripped her chin and said: “Big sister, you can only choose one: the throne or me.” The general who guarded the realm tore away his mask of benevolence, revealing his obsessive, twisted nature, and pinned her against the city tower: “If you want the phoenix seal, I’ll seize the palace. If you want freedom, I’ll kill the emperor. Choose me, won’t you?” Even the cold, aloof minister offered her poisoned wine with a smile: “You little fool, that blood-hot dragon crown will eat away at your bones... Without me to support you, can you really hold on to that seat?” A bird in a cage. A fish in a pond. She lowered her eyes, concealing the realm hidden in them. Fate had been a gentle conspiracy, devised against them from the very beginning. Only on the night of the palace coup, as blood surged through the Hall of Nine Dragons, did they finally see the realm she had hidden behind her lowered gaze. It turned out that she had always been the one moving the pieces. [This work is original. Unauthorized copies will be pursued.]