She is the legitimate daughter of the Prince of He’s household, once cherished beyond measure. But as schemes for power engulf her family and bring it to ruin, she is forced to enter the Northern Zhao imperial palace, trading a political marriage for her family’s safety.
He is an emperor enthroned high above the world, calculating every heart and laying his plans step by step. He treats her like a possession in the palm of his hand, yet with every test and clash, he traps himself in the game.
The realm is unsettled and the board unstable. Their estrangement is real, and so is the relentless pressure. Lu Linghuang enters the game with her own life at stake, parting layer after layer of fog until she can finally see who truly holds the pieces of the realm.
At the autumn hunt in Mulan that year, she shot the Eastern Pearl from his crown, and the horses trampled the jade blossoms. Now, before Chengming Hall, she has cast aside every jewel and raised the marriage treaty in her unadorned hands.
"Your Highness, would you rather be Northern Zhao's virtuous consort, or the lone loyalist of the Lu family?"
His vermilion brush paused above the marriage edict. He saw the icy smile in her eyes. "Since Your Majesty wants a daughter of the Lu family as a hostage, why ask?"
As snow fell on Lu Linghuang's wedding robes outside Chengming Hall, she plunged a poisoned gold hairpin into the palm of Xiao Lan, the Second Prince of Northern Zhao.
The young general seized her wrist with his other hand. A bead of blood fell onto the rim of their nuptial cup. "Your so-called true feelings are terrifying."
They drank the nuptial wine laced with deadly poison. Xiao Lan's kiss crushed the antidote between her teeth. "You said you wanted us to be together forever. And now you use poisoned wine to hurry me into our wedding?"
She snapped the cord fastening the jade pendant at his waist. "Since Your Highness knows I'm the Great Yu's blade planted in Northern Zhao, why not make this performance more convincing?"
Her phoenix crown and beaded veil crashed against the dragon-carved screen as she used herself as bait to lure him into the game. He knew a blade was hidden beneath the embroidered pillow, yet still drew her into his arms. On the chessboard of a chaotic age, the deadliest move was a true heart offered willingly.
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