In the nineteenth year of Zhanghe, the emperor's fifth daughter, Cheng'an, was married off to the powerful minister Li Yan.
After the imperial edict granting the marriage came down, the two met outside the palace and agreed to settle their romantic entanglements from before the wedding, then do their best to become a model couple.
On their wedding night, Li Yan spent the whole night discussing affairs with someone. Cheng'an was unconcerned and promptly summoned Zhu Heng, heir to the Marquis of Yongning, to her residence.
The next morning, Li Yan walked into Zhaoyue Hall in the Princess's residence beneath the first rays of dawn. He parted the curtains, and the first thing he saw was a pair of men's official boots embroidered with cloud patterns.
Li Yan raised his phoenix eyes slightly, then smiled.
The Fifth Princess was indeed as interesting as the rumors said.
In the twentieth year of Zhanghe, the emperor died. Cheng'an, dressed in mourning, stood with the thirteen-year-old Crown Prince's Heir hiding behind her.
A torrential rain washed over the white jade steps before the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Cheng'an drew her sword and glared at the man before her. "Li Yan, you dare!"
Li Yan chuckled. The rain could not mar his face, handsome as cold jade. Clad in armor, he advanced step by step. Having come this far, of course he dared.
For the first time, sorrow appeared on Cheng'an's usually brazen, carefree face. She turned her wrist and raised her sword, laying the blade against her own neck. "If you wish to murder the emperor, you will have to step over my corpse first."
The smile in Li Yan's eyes turned to unprecedented terror the moment the blade cut through Cheng'an's fair skin.
He loved her bright-eyed, radiant, free-spirited self.
He had secretly sworn to protect her carefree happiness for the rest of her life.
Had he ever refused her anything she wanted?
Reader's guide (please read if you have any dealbreakers)
1. Both leads have a few messy romantic entanglements. A few, not just one. This is a marriage-first, love-later story, and the male lead falls first.
Neither lead cares about whether the other is a virgin. They love each other because the other is extraordinary. The heroine won't think the hero is tainted and no longer worth having just because someone else held his hand, and the hero won't think the heroine is impure over anything she may have done. You can consider everyone non-virgins, so please take note if that's a dealbreaker.
2. There's no holding back or exercising restraint. They're both selfish hedonists.
3. The male lead is a treacherous minister and a rebel, not a good person. There may be a lot of palace intrigue. The heroine is bold and overbearing, and has no idea what it means to be virtuous and gentle.
4. This is a fictional setting, and a very loosely constructed one.
Theme: Everything takes effort to achieve
