[Political intrigue and household battles + mutual salvation + historical romance + subverting the usual tropes + powerful, beautiful, tragic abandoned minister × cool, resilient legitimate daughter]
He is Shen Qingyan, the current Grand Secretary, the sharpest blade in the emperor’s hand and the discarded pawn who must remain hidden from sight.
The entire court respects and fears him, yet no one dares come near.
That day, snow fell heavily at Wumen Gate. Stripped of his official hat and left in a single layer of clothing, he was made to kneel as his proud spirit was trampled into the mud. He became the greatest laughingstock in the land.
She is Wen Ruan, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites. Her birth mother died early, leaving her with a noble title but making her little more than an invisible, dispensable member of the family.
She lives cautiously in the sprawling family manor, like a wild weed nobody notices.
On a snowy night, as if possessed, she walked toward that solitary figure.
One was a lone minister, distrusted by the emperor yet still indispensable.
The other was a legitimate daughter treated like a concubine’s child, neglected by her family and loved by no one.
Two equally lonely hearts collided amid the swirling snow.
At first, she only wanted to shield him from the wind.
Later, she wanted to take him home.
But this world has no room for two pitiable people embracing to keep each other warm.
To keep her safe, he severed their bond with his own hands and willingly requested exile to the frontier, never to return to the capital.
On the day he left the capital, heavy snow blocked the roads.
She chased after him to the city gates, but all she could do was catch one last glimpse of his carriage disappearing into the distance.
That parting stretched across countless mountains and rivers, with no hope of reunion.
Later, rumors spread that the once all-powerful Grand Secretary had died in the borderlands, swallowed by the sandstorms, leaving no body behind.
As for Wen Ruan, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites in the capital, she never married.
Whenever heavy snow fell, she would stand alone beneath the corridor facing the road out of the estate...
Bound to an Unscrupulous System, I Fleece the Whole World for My Country
Escape Your Control
Married First, Caught in the Game
The Beautiful Lady Just Wants to Slack Off, but the Rugged Officer Spoils Her
Transmigrate into a Book? This Officer Is Surprisingly Handsome
When the Wutong Leaves Fell, My Old Friend Was Nowhere to Be Found
Geniuses on the Left, Madmen on the Right, and I Alone Am the Son of Heaven
Chicken Soup in a Hundred Flavors