Reborn in the year she came of age, Xuan Shennan’s first act was to refuse the marriage.
In her previous life, she was empress, yet could only watch Emperor Wen and Consort Yue share their affection, watch Shaoshang suffer one injustice after another, and watch Zisheng bear the blood feud that wiped out his entire family.
In this life, she hands the throne of empress to the ambitious Wen Xiujun. “You can be empress. The people I want to save matter more than the palace walls.”
This time, she will never let the Lonely City massacre happen again! She will never let Shaoshang grow up without the love of her parents! And she will never let Zisheng… go through that hell again!
Disguised as a man, she sneaks into the military camp and saves the entire Huo clan with a single map.
She takes up the brush to manage Prince Qian’an’s estate, then shoots an arrow that knocks the elders’ headdresses from their heads, sending shockwaves through the clan.
She establishes a school for girls, promotes farming and industry, and writes The Mirror of Heaven and Earth to speak up for women.
Then, at the victory banquet, Huo Qi’an kneels in front of everyone and asks for permission to marry her.
Emperor Wen looks at the woman who once belonged to him, his palm digging into his flesh until it bleeds. “You’re going to marry him?”
Xuan Shennan smiles and takes Huo Yan’s hand. “No. General Huo is marrying into the Xuan family.”
Xuan Shennan has two marriages in her life. One is a bond with Huo Qi’an forged through life and death, unforgettable and profound. The other is a scandalous love between siblings that goes against all moral conventions and earns the world’s condemnation.
[Both husbands marry into the Xuan family, and a century later, both are honored with offerings of incense by the Xuan clan.]
[As head of the Xuan family, Xuan Shennan becomes an example to Cheng Shaoshang of “another way for women to live,” while she and Zisheng enjoy a sweet childhood-friends romance!]
