He was Shen Mingzhao, the wicked prince cursed by all under heaven.
At six, he murdered his elder brother. The rest of his life was spent atoning in the imperial palace, docile and enduring, letting anyone trample him.
Everyone thought he was a useless shadow. Only Xiao Lin, heir to the Marquis of Zhenbei, cherished him above all else.
Anyone who bullied him was beaten. Anyone who hurt him was killed. Even imperial authority could not lay a finger on him.
“Shen Mingzhao, you don’t have to atone. You only have to belong to me.”
Burdened by his sins, he dared not love. But the general spent sixty years bringing him back from hell to the human world.
Through court intrigues, farewells at the edge of death, and a staged death followed by a life in seclusion, he finally dared to cast off his identity as a prince.
He personally erased his name from the imperial registry, then stayed by his side beneath the osmanthus tree until their hair turned white.
In the first half of his life, he lived for his sins.
In the second half, he lived for the one he loved.
All the mountains and rivers under heaven are worth less than your words: “I’m here.”
