The Last Ember of the Long Lamp

[Beautiful, powerful, tragic, unhinged Grand Marshal vs. half-baked puppet princess]

At nineteen, Yuan Yin married Wei Xian, the Grand Marshal rumored to hold supreme power and be ruthless and sinister.

For months after their wedding, Wei Xian treated her coldly, without a single kind word.

Later, Yuan Yin watched with her own eyes as Wei Xian poisoned her father, held her young brother hostage, and imprisoned her fellow disciples...

Only then did she realize that Wei Xian had married her for revenge.

She tried to run, but failed, and soon contracted a terrible illness.

Before she died, she locked herself in a cluttered room and set it on fire.

Standing in the flames, she listened to Wei Xian's broken shouts outside, her heart calm as still water.

*

When she opened her eyes again, Yuan Yin had returned to the age of fourteen.

In this life, she met Wei Xian early.

She planned every step and schemed at every turn.

But when she truly got close to him, she learned about his past and discovered the secrets hidden behind those bloody cases.

Enough. She was tired and didn't want to get entangled anymore.

So she decided to marry into a foreign kingdom and leave this troubled place behind.

The day the marriage order arrived, the usually composed and haughty Grand Marshal stormed into Chenghua Hall like a madman, heedless of all rules and propriety.

Yuan Yin looked at him coldly. "What do you mean by this, Grand Marshal?"

Wei Xian raised his bloodstained hand and touched her cheek. "We haven't divorced yet. How can you marry someone else?"

[The hero's past-life blurb]

The day Wei Xian crawled out of a sea of blood, he never intended to turn back. He bore every sin, enduring and growing numb along the way, until at last he stood at the pinnacle of power.

Until he met her.

She was a lone lamp in the night. It did not shine brightly, but it was enough to keep him going.

But later, that lamp went out.

He drank the poisoned wine, cradled the cold urn of her ashes in his arms, and murmured, "Princess, from this night on, your humble servant will keep the lamp lit for you."

#Only after you died did I dare to love you openly#

[Reading guide]

1. An alternate setting, very loosely based on history, with lots of original worldbuilding.

2. Neither lead is a perfect character.

3. A substantial portion of the story takes place in their past lives.

Theme: Building a better new life together