Phoenix Cry in Captivity is a sweeping historical romance of tragic love and political intrigue. Su Qinghuang, the legitimate daughter of a military family, meets Seventh Prince Xiao Linyuan in a time of peace, and the two fall deeply in love. But disaster strikes on their wedding day: the Su family is falsely accused of treason and wiped out, and Su Qinghuang falls from principal consort to concubine, while he is the very man ordered to investigate the case. Imprisoned in the prince's manor, she endures humiliation and loses her child. After faking her death to escape, she returns under a new name. When the truth comes to light, she discovers she is the last surviving descendant of the previous dynasty, and that the bloody case from years ago is tied to the deepest conspiracy surrounding the imperial throne. Her former lover must make an agonizing choice between national enmity, family vendettas, and feelings that have never faded. In the end, she goes to guard the frontier, while he remains alone in the capital for the rest of his life. Every winter solstice, a box of candied fruit arrives. Ten years pass without a single word, their deep love left unspoken.
