Pei Zhitong, Marquis of Yongan, was handsome and cold-hearted, with power over the capital. He paid a fortune for a beautiful painting, then locked the lovely woman depicted in it away within his marquisate.
Jiang Shu, the adopted daughter of a great scholar, was lively and nimble, with a gift for painting landscapes. Once a free-spirited artist of the mountains and rivers of Lancang, she became his prisoner overnight.
She tried to escape again and again, and each time he caught her. He clipped her wings and destroyed her peace. Only when her heart had turned to ashes did he realize he had long since fallen deeply in love with her...
He sent away all his concubines and bowed before her, but could not win so much as a glance in return. Only the paulownia trees filled his courtyard, their leaves steeped in the ink of longing.
During her many escapes, Jiang Shu encountered a young general, and a love rekindled from their childhood. She loved, suffered, and was hurt; she lost things along the way and grew stronger, with only books and paintings for company.
By the time he held immense power, he was willing to give up the throne itself, asking only to make amends with her. Beneath the paulownia tree, her wedding finery was ready, but she met his gaze coldly. “Second Master, in this life, you imprisoned me and wounded me with love. I have not a shred of true affection to give you.”
