Little Cardamom

[The new historical romance, A Phoenix in Another’s Nest, has begun.]

At the Lantern Festival, the emperor and empress hosted a banquet in the imperial garden. Ostensibly, it was a celebration for the court and its sovereigns to enjoy together. In truth, Prince Dingbei was choosing his future princess consort.

At the banquet, Yingying, daughter of the Marquis of Cheng’en, bowed and offered to perform A Misty River. When she finished, she added coyly, “This humble woman is unworthy of the honor. I hope you’ll forgive my poor performance.”

The man in black brocade at the head of the table interrupted coldly. “If you know it’s bad, don’t perform.”

Silence fell over the room. No one dared contradict him. From her seat at the very end of the table, the young lady of the Ming family sneaked a glance at him. She thought Prince Dingbei was rude, arrogant, and most certainly no good.

Later, on their wedding night, after they had shared the nuptial wine, the red candles glowed brightly.

The young lady of the Ming family trembled as she helped the man out of his clothes.

He suddenly remarked that he had heard her rendition of Wild Geese Alighting on the Sand had made her famous in the capital.

She pretended to be composed and curtsied, but she was so nervous she forgot to refuse. She could only venture, “This humble wife is unworthy... so, I hope you’ll forgive my... my poor performance?”

She looked up for a furtive glance, only to meet his amused eyes.

“It’s not poor at all. I think my wife is beautiful.”

A delicate young lady, refined from the tips of her hair to the patterns on her shoes x Prince Dingbei, the renowned general, a ruthless man of few words

Fictional setting / slow burn / a hodgepodge of official systems and customs / everyone is a native of the ancient world, so please don’t judge the characters by modern standards

Theme: Growing together through understanding and love.