Oath of the Golden Bell: The Twin Imperial Daughters’ Prison of Love and Hate

Story Synopsis Yun Zhao, the last surviving heir of the previous dynasty, was secretly adopted by Regent Xiao Ce and trained into the leader of the covert guards, “Black Phoenix,” with the restoration of her dynasty as her lifelong mission. Ordered to get close to the new emperor, Xiao Xun, she falls for him amid a deadly game of assassination and protection. One night, she obtains a secret edict and discovers that the new emperor is the brother she lost as a child. But the edict is a farewell written by their birth mother to Xiao Ce: “A letter cannot carry my words. I only pray my children never learn to hate, but live as ordinary people.” Yun Zhao burns the edict and betrays the organization, determined to protect Xiao Xun. At the palace gates, however, Xiao Ce’s arrow pierces her heart. Xiao Xun ascends the throne and climbs alone to the watchtower, clutching a letter he never sent: “If you weren’t you, and I weren’t me, could we open a teahouse in Jiangnan?” In the bitter chill of early spring, he seems to see the woman who stood guard through the night with a blade in her hand, still standing on the eaves, softly answering, “All right.”