"May rivers run clear and seas be calm, may the years be peaceful and the harvests abundant." He once thought this name was a curse, a humiliation carved into him the day he was sold to a pleasure house. "A Yan" was the leading courtesan who forced a smile behind crimson curtains, a willow branch for anyone to pluck, longing for a peace he could never find.
Then the notorious, dissolute general barged into his world. Beneath Shen Huai'an's carefree exterior lay a sincere heart that A Yan believed he did not deserve. One word at a time, Shen taught him to write "Yan Qing" anew. Little by little, he lifted him out of the mire, restoring his dignity and giving him a love that ran deep.
He thought his suffering had finally ended, never knowing that the emperor's fleeting glance was the true abyss. An imperial decree sending Shen on a distant campaign, and a cold threat: "Enter the palace as a consort, or collect his corpse."
The palace gates loomed high. He donned the robes of a noble consort, his heart dead within him. Beneath the city walls, Shen returned from a bloody battle only to witness the greatest pain of his life, and willingly went to his death.
It turned out that the twenty taels of silver in the snow had never bought just one man's safety.
"He was the only moment of clarity in the absurdity of his life, and the love he could never reclaim, even after crossing mountains and rivers."
Theme: Even in the direst circumstances, love and dignity must never be trampled.
Teacher, are you going to torture me to death? 😭