The Nineteenth Year of Chenghe

In the thirteenth year of the Chenghe era, Zheng Lingyi met Jiang Chengyuan in the palace.

They were both young then.

Born into the imperial family, Jiang Chengyuan was at the height of his youthful confidence. He refused to fall behind anyone in riding, archery, or scholarship, and his face always held a young man's pride. Zheng Lingyi met him within the palace walls. Their first few encounters gradually grew into familiarity. They studied and discussed affairs together, and sometimes argued over trivial matters.

Luoyang was prosperous then, its palaces towering above the city. They both thought those days would last a long time.

Until the winter of the fourteenth year of Chenghe, when disaster struck the Ruan family.

The upheaval swept through the court, bringing ruin upon the entire Zheng family. Zheng Lingyi was forced into exile with her clan. A sudden mishap occurred on the journey, and after that she vanished without a trace. Everyone believed she was dead.

That same year, Jiang Chengyuan lost his birth mother.

Years later, the old friends meet again.

Zheng Lingyi has long since changed her name and become Cui Yuanruo, a female official in the Office of Palace Administration. She returns to the palace, carefully concealing her past, only to see Jiang Chengyuan again deep within its walls.

The spirited young man in fine clothes, once brimming with confidence, is gone.

The Jiang Chengyuan of today is reserved and taciturn, his moods impossible to read. He always seems to keep others at a distance.

What's more, he doesn't recognize her.

Cui Yuanruo thinks that perhaps this is for the best.

But before long, Crown Prince Jiang Zhao dies, leaving the Eastern Palace without an heir. The political balance that had held for years shifts with it. The imperial clan, the maternal relatives, and the great families all have their own designs. Until the next heir is chosen, the court will know no peace.

Jiang Chengyuan is also thrust into the center of the storm.

Impeachments, rumors, and false accusations follow one after another. Each seems to have its own cause, with no connection to the others. But the longer Cui Yuanruo observes, the more she feels that there are too many coincidences.

As if someone has been lurking outside the game all along, quietly pushing everyone forward.

Then, following a trail of clues, she sees Zhou Jian.

The court's shifting currents are treacherous, and people's hearts are even harder to read.

Cui Yuanruo once thought that if she hid her name, she could leave the past behind for good.

But in the end, step by step, she returns to Jiang Chengyuan's side.

Only this time, more than a few years stand between them.

Reader Advisory

1. Set in an imaginary dynasty, with a serious political intrigue plot involving the imperial court, the bureaucracy, and the struggle for the throne.

2. Some official systems, rituals, and social customs are inspired by the Han and Tang dynasties. Please don't treat this as strict historical fiction.

Theme: Don't be bound by fate, and don't bow to destiny.