Wen Qingyu first met Shen Hui on a street corner on a night of torrential rain. Covered in mud, she grabbed him as he came to buy medicine. “My lord, save me... I'll do anything.”
Beneath the umbrella was a face as warm and gentle as jade. Shen Hui tilted the umbrella toward her and softly said, “Don't be afraid.”
Shen Hui was the only person in the chaos of war who treated her kindly. He taught her to write, treated her wounds, and took her to see the lantern festival... Anywhere Shen Hui was, that was home to Wen Qingyu.
Until the palace went up in flames and he ascended the throne. Only then did she learn she had been nothing more than a pawn to him. He had never spoken a single sincere word to her, nor had he ever loved her. Even Shen Hui was just a false name and a false identity.
He saved her on a whim, kept her because she was useful, and wanted her simply to possess her...
Wen Qingyu stood atop the city wall. Behind her, Pei Huixue roared in near-desperation. She didn't look back. He had saved her life, so she would return it to him.
The one she wanted to marry was Shen Hui. The one she wanted to see was Shen Hui. The one she loved was Shen Hui.
Pei Huixue had never imagined that the woman before him could be so resolute, leaving him not the slightest room to change her mind.
His face twisted in anguish, but in the end he couldn't even catch the hem of her clothes.
He thought Qingyu would always be there, never realizing that she had already shattered, silently and unseen, somewhere beyond his reach.
[Reading Guide]
◎ Her identity as a dancer will be explained. She is a proper dancer, not a courtesan. Both leads are sexually inexperienced.
◎ The heroine is very dependent on the hero early on. Once she discovers the truth, she becomes clearheaded and independent. After faking her death, she is hard to win back, genuinely hard.
◎ The hero is all show on the outside, but dark-hearted inside, cold as iron, and extremely controlling. He falls for the heroine without realizing it, then spends the later story desperately trying to win her back.
◎ The characters and plot aren't perfect. Expect classic melodramatic angst.
Theme: They say the begonias are still blooming as before.
