※ Noble princess and gloomy, devoted guard dog, one-on-one romance, both virgins
※ Dark fate | Dangerous symbiosis | Mutual checks and balances | Pseudo-Lovecraftian atmosphere
A sudden upheaval in the palace casts a shadow over its vermilion walls.
The emperor and empress lie dead on the palace steps, and the crown prince is pierced by a hundred arrows.
Princess Murong Jiao, known as Linlang, carries her father's blood-written plea for help, but finds no one willing to aid her. In despair, she falls into the hands of the rebels...
Months later, the rebellion is quelled in the capital, a new emperor ascends the throne, and the empire struggles to recover.
Just as the officials are racking their brains to restore order, Murong Jiao, who should have been reduced to bones, suddenly appears in the imperial city, accompanied by a mysterious and handsome guard.
The once carefree apple of the emperor's eye steps into the political arena.
The Grand Princess Linlang controls the government by holding her younger brother in check. Ruthless and autocratic, she is the one person in the court everyone wants to eliminate.
Alas, whether they try poison or assassination, every attempt ends in failure, all because of the mysterious man at her side, whose origins are unknown and whose strength is godlike.
He cuts a path through every obstacle for her. Wherever his blade points, mountains of knives and seas of fire turn to dust.
Everyone says Grand Princess Linlang is blessed by fortune and protected by the gods, escaping danger time and again.
Little do they know that whenever night falls, her god bares his fangs and becomes a monster, ready at any moment to drag her into the abyss and devour her...
A preview of another story in the same series, The Golden House Hides a Blade (see my author page):
As the top secret agent of Beixuan, code-named "Feng," Qing Lan has never failed a mission in all her years undercover.
Assassinating the crown prince is her final assignment. Once it's done, she can retire with honor.
But the assassination fails, and she is gravely wounded and swept into a river, where she is rescued by the third prince, Xie Chenling.
Born to a lowly concubine, Xie Chenling was raised outside the palace and has tasted the world's cruelty since childhood.
Qing Lan thinks to herself: I know this story: a fallen noblewoman and a down-on-his-luck prince!
So she goes with the flow and plays the gentle, devoted woman. She not only cooks for him, but also sells braised snacks to make ends meet, helping him withstand every blade and storm... all so she can get close to her target.
On the night of the palace coup, the princes turn on one another, and both the crown prince and the old emperor lose their heads. She turns back with a smile as he stares at her in shock, then leaps into the sea of flames.
...At last, she fakes her death, retires, and wraps up the mission perfectly.
Five years later, Qing Lan opens a restaurant and lies flat. Then news arrives that Beixuan has lost the war and must send someone to marry into the enemy nation.
What? Why is the owner of the restaurant the one being sent off to marry?
Qing Lan nearly chokes on a peanut shell when the gossip turns out to be about her.
Only after she's dragged into the enemy court does she see the man on the throne. He grips her wrist, his eyes bloodshot, madness etched into his very bones. "After deceiving me so thoroughly, you still think you can just walk away?"
Theme: Turn fate around and live toward the light
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