At the Buddha Shrine, the Prince Breaks His Vows for Love

Male Lead: Xiao Jiyuan

Identity: Prince Jing of the current dynasty and the emperor's younger brother. He commands part of the capital's military forces but has no interest in power. Frail since childhood, he later devoted himself to Buddhism and lives in the Tranquil Heart Garden, deep within his residence. He wears plain clothes year-round, keeps his distance from women, and avoids court politics. He eats simply and follows a Buddhist routine, his words and manner cool and restrained. An air of detachment surrounds him, and he firmly believes that all worldly life is suffering and that he will devote this life to seeking enlightenment. He sees romantic love as an illusory obsession, earning him the widely acknowledged title of “living bodhisattva prince.” Haunted by childhood trauma and the hidden grief of his country, he deliberately uses Buddhist teachings to wall off his heart, shutting out all warmth and desire.

Female Lead: Su Wanqing

Identity: The daughter of a merchant family in Jiangnan. After her family becomes entangled in a minor case, she is sent to Prince Jing's residence as a maid, then assigned to the Tranquil Heart Garden to attend to the prince. She is full-figured and strikingly beautiful, with skin as white as jade, a soft, voluptuous figure, and gentle features touched with charm. She carries the warm, down-to-earth sweetness of a Jiangnan woman. Gentle yet resilient, perceptive, and mindful of boundaries, she never flatters him deliberately. Instead, through the quiet kindness of everyday life, she gradually finds her way into the prince's frozen heart. Skilled at brewing tea, making pastries, sewing, and tending the garden, she always carries a faint scent of osmanthus and rice: the liveliest warmth in this mortal world.

Core story tags

Breaking through ascetic restraint, mutual healing, slow-burn seduction, sweet historical romance, healing everyday life, a Buddhist heart encountering the mortal world, serving him before falling for him, two hearts moving toward each other