Fourth Prince Xiao Xian is getting ready to lie flat and enjoy life when, to his surprise, his emperor father arranges a marriage for him. His bride, Su Wan, is the daughter of Su Lie, the Northern Defender and garrison commander of Yanmen Pass. But the Northern Defender obeys orders while ignoring imperial summons, so why would he agree to this marriage? More than a decade ago, the empress secretly sent assassins to kill the leader of the Nanman. The Nanman rebelled, and the Nanman consort, who had vied with the empress for the emperor's favor, was sentenced to death. The emperor sent the consort's son to the Northern Border King. Was it an exile, or a means of protecting him?
