A Lone Boat Crossing Under the Cold Moon

In the winter of the 37th year of Yongzheng, rumors spread that Yan, the cold-hearted and ruthless Commissioner, had died in a raging fire on the eve of her wedding. The Qingheng Bureau, whose very name struck fear into the hearts of the court officials, had gone up in flames with her. By late spring the following year, everyone in Jiangning Prefecture, Huaizhou, knew of Zhaoyue House, a notorious den of extravagance, and its new proprietor, a frail woman who looked as if a breeze might topple her and coughed blood at the slightest exertion.

The new proprietor was called Yan Shiyu, a delicate, sickly beauty. Yet the business she ran was far from ordinary. Some said Zhaoyue House was entangled with mysterious martial world forces, and even government officials had to show Lady Yan some respect.

On the first day Song Lan, the playboy Marquis of Jing'an from the capital, arrived in Jiangning on imperial orders, a banquet meant to entrap him brought him face-to-face with Yan Shiyu, who rarely showed herself.

At first, they were no more than casual acquaintances, never even exchanging a proper smile. Later, when turbulent events erupted and Song Lan found himself caught in a deadly trap, he worried every day, determined to protect the precious, frail Lady Yan at his side.

After a bloody battle in the mountains, the Marquis of Jing'an, blood running down half his body, looked at the assassins sprawled across the ground. He swallowed and called to the woman calmly brushing dust from her sleeve beneath the trees: "Lady Yan, or... should I call you my wife?"

Yan Shiyu: ...

If you think about it, that didn't seem entirely wrong.

Gentle, frail, sickly beauty (not really) x devoted playboy "widower" (pretending)

You were my excuse to leave, and the reason I stepped back into the storm.

Mystery / Court politics / Two equally matched leads

Reading guide: An alternate setting. Original details are for the sake of the plot.

Theme: Keep moving, and you will get there.