Scheming, deep-minded court official × resilient, beautiful young Taoist nun
Zhong Ruoheng was born into a distinguished family with a century of history, and rose to become the Censor-in-Chief.
He was impartial and stern, upholding the law and bringing order to the court. Yet beneath that cool, reserved face, he hid a secret no one knew.
He had lain low in court, taking each step with care, all to clear his mentor's and his father's names one day.
At a hot spring, the young Taoist nun Bai Qingmei accidentally fell into Zhong Ruoheng's pool.
Because she bore some resemblance to the daughter of his sworn enemy, he decided to take her back to the capital and groom her, hoping to use this pawn to find crucial evidence.
He taught her the manners of a noblewoman and gifted her golden hairpins and fine clothes, watching as affection gradually filled her eyes.
He thought exploiting a young Taoist nun who longed to leave her convent and liked golden hairpins and fine clothes was the coldest move on his chessboard. He had no idea when he himself had entered the game.
Bai Qingmei was bullied at the convent. Her greatest wish was to leave and find a good man with whom to spend her life.
She thought fate had smiled on her when she fell into Zhong Ruoheng's hot spring pool.
She saw him as a god who had saved her from a life of misery.
She respected him, admired him, and loved him. For the sake of his chronic illness, she even drew blood from the tip of her tongue to use as a medicinal catalyst for his medicine.
On their wedding day, she discovered that she was nothing but a "pawn."
The deeper the love, the more painful the hatred.
Every drop of blood she had offered was love given to the wrong person.
She smashed every golden hairpin and fine garment he had given her, and never looked back.
Later, Zhong Ruoheng avenged himself and gained power over the entire court. Yet on a day of heavy snowfall, he waited outside a newly opened clinic for three days and three nights.
The wind blew open the window. Dressed in plain clothes, she wrote out a prescription without looking up. "I have no cure for your illness, Lord Zhong."
He said hoarsely, "My cure has always been you."
"When you taught me to play chess, you said that once a piece is placed, there is no regret."
"But I regret it," he said, weeping uncontrollably.
Notes:
1. One-on-one romance, both leads have had no other partners. Happy ending.
2. Set in an imaginary Song dynasty, with a mix of government systems. The divinations, prescriptions, and acupuncture points mentioned are not researched and exist only to serve the plot.
3. The political intrigue is limited and somewhat simplistic, and also serves only the plot. Please read with care if that bothers you.
4. The entire book is written in advance, so read with confidence.
I'm working hard to finish writing this book in advance (it's nearly complete). Thanks for your support.
Please add it to your collection. Thank you!
Theme: The tenderness of a dodder vine can be tempered into a resilient thread.
