When the Magnolia Blooms, My Lord Will Return

Modern urban life + children of powerful officials + romantic love + marriage first, love later Also known as: The Most Beautiful Woman in the Imperial Capital In the flourishing imperial capital, among its tangled elite families, even when he stood at the pinnacle, his heart still ached for her. After the heiress of the Song family, Song Yuxi, reclaimed her roots and returned to the capital, a marriage contract awaited her, binding her to an alliance between two prominent families. Tang Heng, the second grandson of a veteran general, offered the beauty of the imperial capital as his bride-price and held a grand wedding for the forlorn young woman, five years his junior. One was a sheltered, pure-hearted noblewoman from an official family. The other was a poised, astute young gentleman from Beijing’s elite circles, well versed in power and romance. Their marriage was a political alliance between two formidable families, with not a trace of warmth to prepare the way. The story opened in farce. The day after the wedding, their explosive confrontation became the talk of the city and a laughingstock throughout the capital’s elite circles. Could they divorce? No. Could they live separately? Also no. Under pressure from their families, they tucked away their sharp edges and slept in separate rooms. In public, they treated each other with icy courtesy; in private, they remained a world apart. Yet Song Yuxi always knew how to make Tang, the second young master, who was usually so composed, clear-minded, and at ease in matters of love, turn red in the face and neck with anger. And when had he begun to take this white magnolia, newly arrived in the capital, to heart? When the magnolias bloomed, he prayed for her return. He let himself fall, step by step, defying convention for her and risking everything, even his life. Of all the glory in the world, you alone are my destination.