The Bronze Sparrow Terrace

The last empress vs. the founding emperor

A coolheaded, calculating heroine x an obsessive hero driven mad by unrequited love

A tragic romance of love and hate, angst first, sweetness later. Please bookmark!

1.

Huo Zhaoyi's beauty was unrivaled in the capital. She should have been the most honored empress of the Great Sheng dynasty, but only after becoming empress did she learn that she was not a child of the Huo family.

The Huo family had switched their own legitimate son for her so they could have an empress. The child they had switched away was now raising an army in Yancheng, and his forces were nearly at the capital's gates.

Ling Fengshi was the unruly younger son of a wealthy family in Yancheng, carefree and happy. But after Great Sheng's defeat, the Yan region was ceded to foreign tribes and the people were left in misery. He decided to raise an army in rebellion.

2.

The city fell. Huo Zhaoyi knelt before Ling Fengshi. His exceptionally handsome face was expressionless, while the generals around him urged him, "This disastrous empress deserves the harshest punishment!"

Ling Fengshi gave a cold laugh. "That would be too good for her. Lock her up in Tongque Tower."

During Emperor Wu's reign, the court built lavish palaces, including the Leopard House, and seized beauties and rare treasures from across the land. The emperor lived a life of debauchery, and the place was later called Tongque Tower.

Only after Yancheng fell did Ling Fengshi learn the truth about his origins. He would never forgive the Huo family for abandoning him, and he had no intention of letting Huo Zhaoyi go either.

But when he saw Huo Zhaoyi's breathtaking beauty, radiant as peach blossoms, he wavered. He had plenty of ways to make her suffer. Why not keep her around?

3.

The Great Yan dynasty had just been founded when the officials petitioned the emperor to fill the imperial harem. He rejected them all. Ling Fengshi was already in his twenties and still had no consorts or children. Had he been so focused on war that he had never figured it out?

As the officials busied themselves organizing a romantic chance encounter for him, they discovered that the emperor had been secretly visiting Tongque Tower again and again. There was only one person locked up there: the previous dynasty's empress!

Ling Fengshi held Huo Zhaoyi in his arms. Though he was usually as cold as a mountain, he was patient enough to coax her softly. "I was wrong. Turn around and look at me. I'm not bad-looking, you know."

After finally escaping the palace, Huo Zhaoyi settled in a small town in Jiangnan. A refined young gentleman in town showed her tender concern and invited her on a boat ride.

When she returned home, Ling Fengshi, whom she had not seen for months, was sitting unmistakably in the grand chair in the main room. His expression was icy as he gripped her chin with one hand and pressed her step by step. "I work from dawn to dusk, and you won't even help me with my burdens. On top of that, you go out with another man. Tell me, how should I punish you?"

Huo Zhaoyi was locked in Ling Fengshi's bedchamber. She protested by refusing to eat, and Ling Fengshi leaned over her, his breath close and suggestive. "If you won't eat anything else, that's fine. I'll feed you myself."

The history books of Dachang record that the emperor was a remarkable man, brave in battle and capable in governing. Yet he was also obsessively cruel. He once defied his ministers to make Huo Zhaoyi his empress. When all the officials knelt to beg him, he flew into a rage and threatened to abdicate, declaring that Huo alone would be his wife for life.

The hero has other women; the heroine does not. Don't read if you dislike that. Happy ending.

Theme: Stay true to your original purpose