On the day Regent of Great Zhou Xie Jingxing married Shen Jinghong, the entire capital laughed at him for marrying a doddering vine that could only cling to others.
He kept her in a gilded cage, treating her as a chess piece. She offered him gentle understanding, playing the perfect puppet.
Until the day enemy cavalry swept across the border and he lay gravely wounded, on the brink of death. His princess, who had always kept her eyes lowered, donned bloodstained armor and shot the enemy commander through the throat.
From atop the city wall, she looked back with a smile. "Your Highness, for these past three years..."
"I taught you to govern, commanded your troops for you, and paved your way."
"Now it's time for you to pay your tuition."
Only then did Xie Jingxing realize that the bird he had so carefully trained was a phoenix capable of devouring its master.
Later, the Regent, whose power eclipsed the entire court, knelt before the throne hall and personally broke the jade tablet symbolizing imperial authority. As he pinned up her hair, he said:
"If you want the realm, I'll conquer it for you."
"If you want freedom, I'll imprison myself in the palm of your hand."
"Shen Jinghong, use my bones to make your hairpin. Does it suit you?"
Theme: "True power isn't breaking another's wings. It's willingly reshaping your own bones for the one you love."
