Heard that his father had built a luxurious palace to marry a princess from the Great Zhou, a gilded cage made especially for his noble bride.
Langda thought his father had lost his mind. That delicate princess would be dead within a month of arriving in the desert.
Then, beneath the red sun and over the yellow sands, he saw the princess slowly step down from her carriage. She looked like a trembling rabbit beneath an eagle's talons, or the sacred waters of a frozen lake. Langda's heart began to race. The palace his father had built suddenly seemed a little too shabby.
--
No one knew that the little princess was an impostor, sent in place of the real princess to marry into Lawacuo.
Her husband, the King of Lawacuo, already had many concubines, yet he showered this fake princess with supreme affection.
A year later, the King died.
The little princess wept so hard she could barely breathe, praying that the King would wake up.
Because she knew of Lawacuo's custom: after a father died, his sons inherited the concubines he left behind.
The King had three sons.
The eldest, Langda, was a brave warrior, and his eyes always fixed on the little princess like a wolf's.
The second son was gentle and refined, and loved the culture of the Great Zhou. He had chosen himself a Central Plains name, but the little princess found him unfathomable.
The third son hunted the finest furs to make clothes for the little princess. But the unprocessed bloodstains always made her turn pale with fright, while he laughed beside her.
The little princess didn't want to marry any of them. How could one woman serve two husbands?
The young men of the desert were born to fight for power, to claim their own territory and women.
The princess of the Great Zhou was a long-coveted prize of war.
Content warnings: 1. The female lead is not a virgin; the male lead is.
2. This is a melodramatic story.
3. The romance between the leads begins only after the father's death.
4. This is a fictional setting inspired by ancient nomadic marriage customs, and focuses mainly on women's growth.
Theme: Overcome strength with gentleness
