[A princess returning to the palace midway through life, with a gentle, clear-eyed heroine × a self-effacing, fiercely protective hero with unmatched fighting prowess]
Until she was fifteen, Princess Hua Zheqian was raised in a Taoist temple.
Accustomed to the moonlight among the pines and the clear music of stream water, she thought her life would always be so tranquil and detached from worldly affairs.
Then, on the eve of her coming-of-age ceremony, an imperial decree summoned her back to the palace, a place she had no memory of.
They say the emperor felt guilty toward her late mother. That guilt became an unprecedented favor: she was the only princess of the dynasty to be granted her own residence before marriage.
Everyone in the palace secretly sized up this princess who had returned from the countryside.
She was gentle and composed, keeping everyone at a slight distance.
One day, she was attacked by assassins. A military officer under the command of the Northern Army's Cavalry Commandant rescued her.
When her father learned what had happened, he appointed the man as a personal guard in the princess's residence, charged with protecting her at all times.
In the years that followed, the great clans grew more powerful, and imperial authority teetered on the brink. The emperor died, leaving his only younger brother, who was just seven years old.
Hua Zheqian could only take up the burden as a princess, ruling from behind the curtain, assisting with state affairs, and taking charge of a land laid waste.
Before the curtain stood great clans and powerful ministers circling like wolves. Behind it, a young widow and child struggled to keep their footing on thin ice.
One snowy night, utterly exhausted, she looked at the silent figure standing outside the hall, his back as solid as a mountain. For the first time, she let her vulnerability show.
"Leng Qianyu, can I trust you in this palace?"
He dropped to his knees at once, his voice cool and clear. "This subordinate is of low station and fears sullying Your Highness's reputation. Protecting you is my duty. I would never dare harbor other intentions."
Hua Zheqian understood.
Later, a prince raised the banner of "purging the emperor's corrupt advisors," and his cavalry charged straight for the capital.
At court, she personally sent him far away to the bitterly cold frontier.
He and the soldiers crushed the rebellion, but he was reluctant to return to the capital.
Five years later, a prince of the imperial clan forced his way into the palace, staining its walls with blood.
Hua Zheqian gripped a sharp sword, prepared to die protecting the young emperor behind her.
Just as the hall gates were about to fall and the dynasty teetered on the brink, hoofbeats shook the earth outside the palace, followed by a fierce shout:
"I, Leng Qianyu, have come by imperial order to quell the rebellion!"
Note: A fictional setting inspired by the Han dynasty.
Theme: Stabilize the realm and rule the world
