Si Yao, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Who Guards the Nation, and Murong Heng, the young general of the Murong family, had been childhood sweethearts, playing beneath the pagoda tree since they were small. Their families’ marriage alliance was a rule handed down by their ancestors, as well as a betrothal personally bestowed by the late emperor. It was meant to unite the civil and military factions and stabilize the precarious court. Everyone in the capital knew of the affection between the young pair, which had flourished for years beneath the fragrance of the old pagoda tree. But just as their wedding date drew near, a distant cousin of Si Yao’s maternal family was suddenly coerced into leaving a dead pigeon bearing a threatening note at the gates of the marquis’s residence. The threat was aimed directly at their marriage alliance. Will their marriage endure?
