In the tenth year of Jian'an, fourteen-year-old Shen Tinglan, heir to the Marquis of Zhenbei, found a seven-year-old mute slave on a snowy battlefield. He removed the wolf-patterned blue jade pendant from the boy's neck and named him Gu Changning, meaning lasting joy and peace.
Ten years together. He taught him to read and draw a bow, took his punishments for him, and hid his name at the end of poems when no one was around. Gu Changning was a silent shadow, but as the days and nights passed, he fell for the heir of his family's enemy, someone he should never have loved.
He was the orphaned descendant of the last Chanyu of Beishuo. At seven, carrying a blood-written testament, he had infiltrated the marquis's household to kill all the Liang people and restore Beishuo.
Love and hatred were a double-edged sword, piercing both their hearts.
The night his identity was exposed, snow fell thick and fast. Gu Changning knelt on the blue bricks, tears streaming down his face. “I’m sorry. I really wanted to love you.”
Later, Shen Tinglan died fighting on the frontier, his body never found. Gu Changning remained alone in an empty courtyard, burning a stack of blank letters every year on snowy days. Each letter bore a drawing of a Qingluan, a mythical lonely bird that searches for its kind all its life, never ceasing even unto death.
He spoke to the north wind for the rest of his life: “My name is A Luolan, and I am Shen Tinglan’s Gu Changning.”
Theme: I want to send my longing on a wild goose, yet fear your heart will break
