Ten years, twenty years, thirty years...
Every night in Ziwei Palace, Queen Dugu would stand in front of the lattice window for a while, slowly admiring the huge drunken hibiscus in the courtyard. No one knows how many springs, summers, autumns and winters it has been here, and no one knows why it is so favored. When the sunset faded and the lanterns first came on, her mind was like a sparrow returning to its nest, resting on the branches of the hibiscus tree for a long time. With the rosy glow, she could not help but bring up a long-lasting past event:
"They are twin lotuses, linked to life and death. The lotus leaves the water green, and the hibiscus asks the distant sky. The roots are entwined to resist the turbid waves, and they dance together into the clear abyss. The harmonious pearls condense and the aspirations become stronger. The heart does not change in the flames, and the bones are removed in winter. Don't seek fame and strength, and stay together in the clouds and dreams."
Hearing the Queen's murmurs in her sleep, this huge flower tree seemed to have a spirit and could not help but sway with the wind, which was really free and carefree. If the hibiscus is in full bloom, the layers of petals are stacked together, and the momentum is as majestic as a mountain, showing the grace and prosperity of the Sui Dynasty.
Everyone who has seen it says that this flower is extraordinary and there will never be another one in the world. Only the queen herself knew that the hibiscus flowers were like embroidery and the rong flowers were like brocade. The trees in her courtyard were snow rose trees, and there was another tree named Zhu Rong in the far west. If she could have her life over again, would she choose white or red?
With two calyxes from the same root, hibiscus is in danger. The novel takes the turbulent times of the Southern and Northern Dynasties as the background, and describes the story of two protagonists who break free from all the shackles in troubled times and depend on each other for life and death in the wind and rain. Destiny forces each other, and the world is in trouble. Should I bow my head to fate, or fight against impermanence with flesh and blood?
