(The entire manuscript is complete; it will be published once it has enough saves.)
A handsome young man found a little girl, dusty and gray.
From that day on, she had a new name: Yang Qingye.
She had new parents, a new home, and an older brother.
Yang Qingzhao.
*
Her brother gave her the pet name Yaoyao, calling her Yaoyao this and Yaoyao that every day.
And so, amid those calls of "Yaoyao," she grew into a young woman.
At fifteen, she drank alcohol for the first time.
The faint bitterness on her tongue turned into an ache in her heart, and, as if possessed, she stole a kiss from her brother.
Her heart raced as though it might leap from her chest. She had heard people call that "falling in love."
But he was her brother.
*
On the day Yang Qingye entered the palace, her brother carried her to the bridal sedan.
He walked steadily and slowly, carrying her until he placed her inside.
Night swallowed his departing younger sister, and Yang Qingzhao's gaze turned cold.
Yang Qingye did not cry. She accepted the fate laid out for her.
After all, even if she had not entered the palace, she could never have married him.
The name that haunted countless dreams, yet could never be spoken aloud.
She lived cautiously in the palace, learning to please the most powerful man under heaven, her husband.
He kept his harem empty for her, with no one but her, and promised to make her empress.
Better to accept the man before her than pine for someone she could never have.
She believed him.
That winter, she heard that the prince had become disloyal and seemed poised to rebel...
*
Yang Qingzhao had a lovely little sister, fair as snow and jade, whom he had raised from childhood.
When she came of age, she stole a kiss from him while he pretended to sleep. He told himself:
His sister was still young. She simply didn't know any better.
Until he saw her smiling radiantly at the young emperor, displaying a sweetness he had never seen before.
It felt as though a piece of his heart had been torn away.
He began working himself ragged to expand the emperor's territory.
He spent years on campaign, conquering one city after another, until he was made a prince.
His achievements threatened to overshadow his sovereign.
He wanted his sister's smiles to be meant only for him, and her tears to be shed only for him.
He wanted to hide her away, to make her whole world revolve around him.
When he saw her shaken and terrified after the palace coup, he leaned over her ear like a ghost:
"Wherever Yaoyao is, that's where your brother will be."
[Reading Guide]
The female lead and male lead are both sexually inexperienced.
Eleven-year age gap.
Both the male lead and the second male lead have been through a breakup. The male lead gets back together with her; the second male lead does not.
Romance-focused, bittersweet and sweet.
While they are siblings, there are no romantic feelings described.
Theme: I only wish to raise my cup and share a joyful evening.
