Embers of Farewell: The Marquis's Precious Little Bird

In the seventeenth year of Yongning, Xue Zhiwei brings her young brother to seek refuge at the Marquis of Weilie’s estate.

Her mother’s dying words still ring in her ears: “The marquis’s estate is a den of wolves.” From then on, she hides her literary talent, learns to keep her head down, and lets others walk all over her. In this manor that devours people, protecting her brother matters more than anything.

But she can hide her intelligence, not the face that keeps getting her into trouble.

The day they first meet, the heir, Fang Jinci, rides back on horseback. She kneels to get out of his way, but too late. In the instant their eyes meet, he sees the fear in hers. This heir, renowned for his coldness, forever marks that glance in his heart like a cinnabar mole.

When he sees her sewing clothes for her little brother, he orders ten bolts of Shu brocade sent to her. When he sees a matron cheating her, he records every debt in his ledger, planning to settle accounts later. He coolly calls her foolish and timid, yet on the night she kneels until the jade magnolia pattern is imprinted on her knees, he bursts through the door and sweeps her into his arms in front of all the servants in the courtyard.

“Zhiwei,” he says, his eyes red in a way she has never seen before. “How much longer are you going to hide from me?”

She thinks she's a sparrow stranded on a bare branch with nowhere to go. She doesn't know that someone has long since woven a cage for her, not a cage to imprison her, but one to protect her. It is the cage he holds in his palms, the only thing in his cold world he can't bear to let the wind touch.