The World Beneath the Sovereign

At twelve, he stood at death's door, then accompanied his mother to make an offering of thanks. The fortune slip read: A life beset by hardship, amid the smoke and flames of war. He traded it for a copper coin, smiling like peach blossoms. At twenty-four, his fate turned around in a single night. He was tossed and turned amid a world ablaze with flames that could set the plains alight. He was merely a lazy man, yet for one careless promise, he gradually buried half a lifetime of freedom. All he wanted was a love affair, yet amid ceaseless war, he personally ignited the flames of battle at the political summit. Let them laugh at Yanran. He only hoped that the frail figure in a black robe, wearing the iron mask of Lanling, would carve out half a realm for him, and win back one fleeting glance at the face he cherished most.