In the Illusory Realm of Taixu, her fate had long been written in the Register of the Unfortunate: when tiger and rhinoceros meet, the great dream returns.
But the affairs of this world have never been ruled by a book.
In 2026, the young Gao Shixun died unexpectedly and was reborn as Aisin Gioro Shixun, the seventh son of the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing dynasty. Born beneath an auspicious purple aura, he was personally promised by the Kangxi Emperor, "Your fate is noble, and your blessings will exceed even mine." At twelve, all his memories of his previous life returned. At fifteen, he became the ruler of this vast land, taking the era name Qianlong.
He had read that book. He knew that the girl born on the first day of the first lunar month would, in another life, become the virtuous consort who wept during her family visit, a wisp of fragrant soul that silently withered in the imperial harem.
But in this life, when she was five, she placed her warm little hand in his cold palm and said, "People with cold hands are always hiding something in their hearts. Don't hide it. If you keep too much bottled up, you'll get sick."
From that moment on, her fate no longer belonged to the Register of the Unfortunate.
Emperor and empress, husband and wife, childhood sweethearts: all in one. With the wisdom of two lifetimes and the art of imperial rule, he would raise imperial power to the pinnacle of China's two thousand years of autocracy; pave the way for her family, redirect her fate, and write a different ending for the world of Dream of the Red Chamber.
Real-world power struggles are the bones, mythology the skin. He would claim this realm, and protect the people by his side.
Heaven may rule the world, but he rules her. If Heaven objects, let it come find him.
Theme: Imperial power, emperor and empress, husband and wife, childhood sweethearts, changing fate
