Shen Zhaoning was the daughter of a great general. Her mother had been close friends with the empress since childhood. After her father died on the battlefield, her mother took her own life, entrusting Zhaoning to the empress with her dying breath. Grateful for the family’s loyal service, the emperor adopted Zhaoning as his goddaughter, bestowed on her the title of Princess Zhaoning, and entered her into the imperial clan register.
From then on, she grew up in the palace alongside the crown prince, Xiao Chengyan, and her cousin, Gu Minglan. The three studied together, practiced martial arts, drank wine, and were as close as siblings. In everyone’s eyes, they were the envy of all as devoted siblings and friends. No one noticed that the crown prince’s gaze had quietly crossed the line.
On the night the crown prince ascended the throne, the wine from his wedding banquet had not yet worn off. Instead of going to the empress’s bridal chamber, he pushed open Zhaoning’s palace door.
“Royal Brother, we’re siblings.”
“In name only.”
“We’re in the clan register. That can’t be changed.”
“I don’t care about any of that.”
He took her by force. Only then did she realize that he had long since stopped wanting to be her royal brother.
The empress dowager was furious and heartbroken. She had to choose between the royal family’s dignity and political stability, and the daughter she had raised with her own hands. Through her tears, she told Zhaoning: “The emperor cannot have a weakness. You must leave. The best way out is to marry Gu Minglan, your cousin, who has loved you for many years as well.”
Zhaoning agreed through her tears. But before the marriage contract could be drawn up, urgent news came from the border: the powerful northern kingdom of Beique had heard that Great Liang had a peerlessly beautiful princess and sent an envoy to ask for her hand. Its cavalry was massed at the border, ready to wage war if she was refused.
The court erupted in an uproar. They couldn’t bear to send her away for a political marriage, but refusing would bring war once more. Then the emperor coldly declared before the court: “No one will marry my princess.”
Yet just last night, he had been the one to push her into the abyss.
A loyal general’s orphan, an emperor’s forbidden possession, childhood friends, a wolf lord of the grasslands… Can she escape the palace walls, and the fate laid out for her?
