A song of the Phoenix Seeking Its Mate, sung until the crossing at Wujiang is left uncrossed.
On the night she is newly widowed, Yu Wan hears a zither playing outside the mourning hall. People say she is cursed and brings death to her husbands. She asks the musician just one question: “Sir, whom does this song, ‘The Phoenix Seeking Its Mate,’ seek?”
He is the orphaned heir of a military family, hiding under the assumed name Xie Yi in the Music Bureau. Beneath his zither strings lies a scheme that could decide the fate of the realm. She is a newly widowed woman from a prominent family who sells wine by the roadside, daring to run away with him in the night despite the scorn of her entire household.
Later, he no longer plays the zither. He takes up his sword and mounts his horse, becoming the sharpest blade in an age of chaos. She takes down her wine banner and follows him into the military camp. From Jiangnan to Gaixia, over three thousand li, she sings the zither's song until her voice gives out.
The world says that the farewell between the Hegemon King and his Consort Yu is a final, unparalleled tragedy. But she waits for him by the banks of Wujiang, hoping he'll cross the river. The boat is on the opposite shore. He looks back at her, smiles, and lays his sword against his neck.
“Yu Wan, don't wait for me.”
“Chu Wuyi, you're lying.”
That night, the waters of Wujiang are bitterly cold, and the beauty of the Yu flowers is in full bloom.
Reading guide: Pure romance, 1v1, alternating perspectives. The main story is tragic and beautiful, with sweet extras. Set in an imagined Great Yong, in homage to Farewell My Concubine and Wenjun's elopement. Please don't nitpick the history.
Theme: An age of chaos can be overturned, and the Wujiang crossing can remain uncrossed, but a life spent truly loving someone is never wasted.
