Everyone in the capital knows that the regent, Xie Linyuan, is a Buddhist devotee: pure-hearted, desireless, without love, and unmoved by women. Though he wields power over the whole court, he wants nothing for himself.
That is, until an imperial decree marries him to Su Qingyuan, the true daughter of the Duke of Zhen who was abandoned by her family and left to fend for herself for thirteen years.
On their wedding night, he hands her a three-year separation agreement, his gaze cool and unreadable:
“We will live in separate quarters, with no sex and no love. When the term is up, we’ll go our separate ways.”
Everyone laughs at her, saying she has a marriage in name only and will spend three years alone, waiting for it to end.
But no one knows that this Imperial Uncle, who always fingers his prayer beads and has abstained from desire for ten years,
has secretly been in love with her for a whole decade.
He restrains himself, keeps his feelings buried, and yields at every turn, all to keep her safe.
Later
The Buddhist devotee breaks his vows, and his serenity crumbles.
He grips her waist, obsession and desire surging in his eyes, his voice hoarse and undone:
“I can keep every precept under heaven, but I can’t keep away from you.
Qingyuan, from this day on, no contract, no separation.
For the rest of my life, you will be the only object of my desire, and I offer you my entire realm as your bride price.”
