I was once an unknown iris within the palace wall.
After a terrible disaster, I fled to the Western Regions, burying the past with spices, thinking that my whole life would be lost in the wind and sand.
Until the horse hooves of the envoy from the Central Plains trampled the peace, and an edict dragged me back to the cannibal cage.
They said I killed her, that I was ungrateful.
They forget that the rhizome of the iris is buried deep in the ground and needs three years of wind and frost to refine its quiet fragrance.
I have forgotten my past, but I cannot forget my hatred.
This time, I am no longer a flower that can be broken by others.
I want to use these hands to make an incense that will burn down the palace.
Purpose: Through a woman's transformation from escape to confrontation, from dependence to self-reliance in a desperate situation, this book explores memory and identity, the power of female friendship, and how individuals stick to their true hearts and achieve self-salvation under the pressure of power. It aims to convey that even in a cage, the soul can be like an iris, tenaciously blooming its own fragrance amidst the wind, sand and ruins.