They first met beneath the apricot blossoms, and one glance bound their hearts for half a lifetime.
He was a young emperor, patient and calculating. She was a bright, pure-hearted daughter of a distinguished military family.
As political schemes swirled and villains framed them and sowed discord, he pretended to be heartless and imprisoned her in the Cold Palace. He bore the weight of infamy while secretly protecting her life.
Misunderstandings multiplied. Her family was destroyed, and the cold snow wore away all her love. With her heart dead, she shut away her feelings and passed her days in indifference.
He hid his deep affection in the shadows, keeping her safe year after year, yet with his own hands he caused wounds that could never be healed.
At last, in a thunderous reckoning, the wrongful cases were overturned and the stains on their names washed away. He ruled over a prosperous empire and lavished every honor upon her to make amends.
But what is broken cannot be made whole, and love cannot be reclaimed.
He watched over her from behind a wall, growing old in longing as he kept an empty empress's seat. She lived quietly in the palace, letting go of the past and taking no interest in worldly affairs.
Their fate began beneath a fine rain among the apricot blossoms and ended amid snow and wind in the deep palace. A lifetime entangled, half a lifetime spent watching from afar. For the rest of their lives, each found their own peace, while their longing remained unresolved until old age.
