The Kingdom of Yu is on the brink of ruin. To ally with the Kingdom of Yun and fight the Kingdom of Liang, Princess Yu Qingwu sets out on a marriage alliance.
On the way, she is hunted by Liang soldiers and rescued by a dashing young man.
Only later does she learn that her rescuer is Xiao Yi, the Liang general who gives her father sleepless nights and strikes terror into the hearts of soldiers.
On a dark and stormy night, the young general, newly awakened to love, sneaks into the imperial harem and says he will take her away. He even promises to return with her to Yu and serve its king.
But how could Yu Qingwu risk her entire kingdom's fate on an empty promise? After much deliberation, she decides to set a trap and eliminate this grave threat to Yu.
Six years later.
Cavalry tramples through the gates of the Yun palace. The young man she once cast aside is now the new ruler of Liang!
Xiao Yi personally beheads her husband and pins the pampered Yu Qingwu beneath his feet, his eyes bloodshot. “When you betrayed me back then, did you ever imagine this day would come?”
By day, he humiliates and torments her by every means available. But at night, he spends the whole night making love to her, pinning her against the corner of the bed again and again, his icy hand clamped around her ankle as he begs her to say she regrets it, that she loves him, that they can start over...
This cycle continues until Yu Qingwu is utterly spent.
Withered and frail, tears streaming down her face, she begs him to spare her kingdom.
His heart breaking, he sobs uncontrollably and begs her not to leave him.
*
Yu Qingwu escapes by faking her death.
She hides in a secluded paradise, planning to live out her life in peace.
Deep in the night, her wooden cottage is surrounded.
Amid the blazing flames, the man binds her hands and pins her against the door, kissing her until she can hardly breathe.
His dark eyes fixed on her, he asks, “Will you come back with me, or watch me die right in front of you?”
