Newly crowned top scholar Liang Qingyun is as gentle as jade, radiant and upright.
To repay a debt of gratitude, she disguises herself as a man and marries into the Princess Royal's household, becoming her consort.
Everything is perfect, except for her brother-in-law, the emperor, Xiao Chengyou, whose thoughts run deep and whose methods are ruthless.
Xiao Chengyou despises this insincere scholar, who has nothing but good looks and knows only how to please his elder sister.
He corners her at every turn in court and treats her as a thorn in his side in private.
Until one day, by accident, he intends to kill the hypocrite with his own hands.
But at the very moment he grips her slender neck, he accidentally tears open her bloodstained undergarment.
This brother-in-law he loathes turns out to be a woman, with skin as delicate as ice and bones as beautiful as jade.
Later, rumors spread through the capital that the brilliant consort had died suddenly of illness, leaving the Princess Royal grief-stricken.
No one knows that deep within the palace, in a bedchamber lit by dim red candles, a slender figure now lies bound in golden chains.
Xiao Chengyou, once so far above everyone else, keeps her trapped on his dragon bed, losing himself to her night after night.
"After deceiving Me for so long, you will belong to Me alone for the rest of your life."
*
Liang Qingyun has had enough of life as a caged bird, hidden away from the light.
She sets a fire, burns down the palace that held her captive, and vanishes without a trace.
Xiao Chengyou flies into a rage and searches every corner of the land.
They meet again three years later, in the misty rain of Jiangnan.
The arrogant emperor gazes at the lovely little girl beside her, as fair as snow and jade, and is consumed by jealousy.
He pins Liang Qingyun against the mottled wall of an alley, his voice pleading:
"So what if you've married someone else? So what if you had another man's child?
If the child was born of you, I will treat her as My own.
Qingyun, come back with Me..."
[Reading Guide]
Includes cross-dressing, coercive romance, faked death, and running away while pregnant. Expect overwhelming melodrama.
One-on-one romance, both leads' first times, happy ending.
Theme: No matter where you are, never forget who you are
