[Eighteen years of love, undone by a single “Approved. Proceed gradually, don’t rush.”]
Dai Zhan had dreamed for eighteen years.
In her dream, she was the most honored princess of Xiliang, betraying her royal family, abandoning her homeland, and marrying off to Great Tang for the sake of one man. She thought it was love.
Until Xue Pinggui ascended the throne.
The decree appointing two consorts lay on the desk: she was named Noble Consort of the Western Palace, three ranks below the empress. Her twelve-year-old son, Xue Tianxiang, went from “eldest prince” to “son of a concubine” overnight. The military power of Xiliang that she had handed over with her own hands was being secretly whittled away by a vermilion note: “Approved. Proceed gradually, don’t rush.”
After three nights of nightmares, she finally saw the truth. The man who had shared her bed for eighteen years did not want Dai Zhan. He wanted everything that belonged to Xiliang. He was stripping away its military power, deposing the crown prince, and swallowing up Xiliang, step by calculated step.
But Xue Pinggui had forgotten that she was not only his wife. She was also Xiliang’s only princess.
On the eve of the investiture ceremony, Dai Zhan pushed open a door.
Ling Xiao stood outside: the King of Xiliang, who had guarded her for eighteen years, with two hundred thousand cavalry at his command. Inside, the man was still dreaming of an eternal empire, unaware that after tonight, the world in Chang’an would change.
“Pinggui, you made me dream for eighteen years. Tonight, it’s time to wake up.”
[A single “Approved. Proceed gradually, don’t rush” shattered eighteen years of love. When love becomes nothing but scheming, the Princess of Xiliang decides to take back everything that belongs to her with her own hands.]
[A mix of sweetness and heartbreak · Political intrigue · Mother and son, ruler and subject · A powerful heroine’s awakening]
