Heartache that lingers · A sense of brokenness · So heartbreaking it hurts · A story that stays with you
Palace intrigue x political maneuvering x sweet and angsty romance. See how the heroine is reborn from despair, and how an emperor turns a simple promise to "look after her" into a lifetime of devotion.
Jiang Yue spent her life bidding farewell to her father and mother, her elder brother, and her husband. Each time, she thought it would be the last, but fate insisted on telling her: No, there's someone else.
At last, she understood that fate never asks what you want. It waits until you think you've grasped something, then gently pulls it away, leaving you with nothing to hold on to. The four cruelest words in the world are not "parting in life and death," but "it could have been." They could have been reunited; they could have grown old together. But fate snatched each of those "could have beens" from her hands, leaving her only with "at least." At least she made it through. At least someone helped her hold up a corner of the sky.
A woman covered in scars, and an emperor guarding his brother's throne. She thought she would only ever love one person in her life, until another person brought her back from that dry well, little by little, with a bowl of congee, a parrot, and one quiet act of protection after another.
But if she hadn't been so tough, and if that person hadn't been tougher still, then among the countless lights in this realm, not a single one could have warmed her.
