"Between you and me, she was never there, yet she was everywhere." - Rebecca
If only crossing this river could make me forget everything in the past.
A touch of mystery. Be sure to read the content warnings before starting!
Shui Heguang was a poor washerwoman, but overnight she went from rags to riches and became the heir apparent's consort.
In the eyes of outsiders, it was a blessing beyond anything she could have hoped for.
Prince Zheng held power over the court, and even the emperor feared him. The heir apparent, Zhong Huan, was skilled in both letters and arms, handsome and talented, truly an ideal man.
Everyone in the heir apparent's household could see that he was so infatuated with his consort he had lost his senses.
He obeyed her every word and cared for her in every way, wishing he could hold her in the palm of his hand.
Only Shui Heguang knew how hard life was for a newly appointed heir apparent's consort.
The previous consort had died under mysterious circumstances, and everyone in the household kept silent about it.
The heir apparent, who usually indulged her in everything, turned ashen whenever his former wife came up.
"Let's not talk about her. I don't want to remember anything about her."
The more he resisted, the more Shui Heguang couldn't stop imagining the woman whose traces had been erased.
There had been no funeral after her death. Her body was casually buried in a mass grave, with no one to pay respects.
They said she had once been the darling of the heir apparent's heart too...
Her son returned to the heir apparent's household and glared at Shui Heguang.
"You stole my mother's good fortune! You should be the one to die!"
The anger in his eyes was chilling. Shui Heguang couldn't get through to him, so all she could do was avoid provoking him.
But he relentlessly opposed her at every turn, refusing to change even after the heir apparent punished him time and again.
She grew increasingly puzzled. How exactly had the heir apparent's consort died, and why didn't even her own son know the truth?
The woman's body was gone, but her soul still wandered the heir apparent's residence.
What was she trying to say?
Shui Heguang was determined to uncover the truth, but she accidentally stepped into a massive whirlpool...
For most of the story, the leads' dynamic goes like this:
Male lead: I really want to forget...
Female lead: (casts the Great Memory Revival Spell)
Content warnings:
1. The male lead (29 when he first appears) is remarried and has a child. He is not chaste. He is deeply devoted when in love, but deeply twisted when he goes off the rails. He likes giving very strange (?) little gifts.
2. The female lead spends 60% of her time solving mysteries and the rest acting. She's briefly love-struck early on.
3. The romance is very dark and unsettling, and may make some readers uncomfortable.
4. This is not a proper detective mystery novel.
Theme: Let go of the past and embrace a new beginning
