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Her name was Pan Wanqing: all her life, she weathered storms, and not a single day dawned clear.

His name was Pan Guichen: all his life, he pursued his obsession, yet never found a place to return to.

He was the Duke's legitimate grandson; she was the orphaned daughter of a disgraced minister. Betrothed as infants, they had been by each other's side since the age of five.

He said, "Wanqing, when I grow up, I will marry you."

She said, "Guichen, I'll wait for you."

But the emperor feared the bloodline of the Wen clan, a family of generals, running through her veins, and saw her as the greatest threat to imperial power.

When the Northern Di invaded the borders, a princess was needed for a political marriage. The entire court tacitly agreed on her.

To send away her only protector, the emperor lured him to the distant battlefield with a promise: "Win merit, and I will grant you a marriage."

She wept as she was sent to the far-off desert; he fought through blood and fire, longing only for the day he could return.

One died amid endless yellow sands, clutching his jade pendant and whispering, "I won't live to see you again."

The other fell beneath a rain of arrows, gripping the handkerchief she had embroidered and sobbing, "I've come to find you."

The one he had guarded, loved, and longed for all his life

was driven to her death by the very sovereign he served, the court where he made his stand, and the land he protected.

The world longs for Wanqing, yet the world has never known a clear sky.

The mortal world yearns for one who will return, yet no one ever returns.

Their old promise remains, though the land lies in ashes. They loved each other deeply in this life, yet will never meet again.