During the Yongchang era of Great Qi, undercurrents surged through the imperial court.
Xiao Jilin, Vice Minister of the Secretariat, passed all three levels of the imperial examinations at seventeen. A cold-faced, powerful minister who left nothing to chance, he was a sharp blade hidden in its sheath.
Lu Qingyan, a loyal and mighty general, joined the army at fourteen. A blazing star of a general, passionate and true-hearted, he was a wildfire burning across the wilderness.
An autumn hunt and an assassination brought the two, who should have been enemies, together by chance. In court, they were political rivals at each other's throats. In the shadows, they became each other's only shield and sword.
When the relatives of the imperial consort sought to usurp the throne, the borders came under attack, and their loved ones betrayed them, they fled the capital and wandered the martial world, then fought their way back from the brink to the pinnacle of power. Blood and fire accompanied them every step, as did their devotion to each other.
"You guard the realm, and I will guard you."
The empire was their game board, and the people its pieces. Ice clashed with fire, reason struggled against emotion, and two proud, solitary souls tested and redeemed one another amid the chaos, until at last they stood side by side between heaven and earth.
With the realm at peace, their hearts remained one.
The author has gotten a little too lazy to update. I'll come back to it whenever I feel like it again, hehe.
Theme: Loyalty
