Ten miles of red wedding finery, and he stood before the bridal sedan, his face cold as he held out a hand. “Princess, please.”
I placed my hand in his palm, digging my nails into an old scar. “General Shen, it’s been a long time.”
On our wedding night, he slept in the study. In a hidden compartment in the bridal chamber, I found forty-seven letters he had never sent.
“Mingzhao, the northern frontier is windy. Last night, I dreamed again that you fell from your horse.”
“If I die here, will you remember me a little longer?”
So he had spent four years guarding the frontier, holding an army in his hands to keep me safe.
So my mother had not died of illness all those years ago.
When the Third Prince allied with a foreign enemy and marched on the capital, Shen Yanqing, his armor stained with blood, shielded me behind him.
“I once said I would marry you. It wasn’t an imperial decree. I meant it.”
I tore a strip from the lining of my wedding dress to bandage his wound, laughing through my tears.
“Shen Yanqing, I’ll stand with you and defend this realm.”
Wedding finery can be torn, armor can be broken, but we will carve out a path to survival in this troubled age.
Reading guide:
- One-on-one romance, both devoted only to each other | Strong leads who dote on each other | Childhood sweethearts reunited after years apart
