Pearls Upon the Crown

# I Would Become a Buddha for You, and Fall into Demonic Ways for You # In the second year of Yong'an, on a night of torrential rain, the emperor's sworn younger sister, Princess Qiongzhi, was married to the son of the emperor's maternal uncle. On the wedding night, however, the bride's palanquin was carried to the emperor's bedchamber. That night, everyone in the imperial city was too frightened to breathe. Everyone knew what had happened, but no one dared say a word. The prince consort waited in the rain outside the palace gates all night, only to receive an imperial edict the next morning naming the princess a Noble Consort. * When Guantang returned to the capital at nineteen, he met a nine-year-old girl, the niece of the emperor's favored consort, Lady Zhao. Orphaned from a young age, she was Lady Zhao's only relative from her birth family, and when Lady Zhao was at the height of the emperor's favor, she couldn't bear to leave her behind. She therefore petitioned the emperor to bring the girl into the palace to be raised. The emperor named her Guanshan and made her Princess Qiongzhi, giving her a status equal to an imperial daughter. When Consort Zhao died amid the palace's bitter power struggles, the little girl lost her only source of support. Not only was she bullied, she couldn't even get enough to eat, so she started sneaking into Guantang's courtyard every day to steal snacks. When he caught her, the little girl raised her head, her eyes crinkling as she sweetly called him, "Elder Brother." From the moment she called him that, Guantang could no longer bear to see her suffer the slightest mistreatment. He protected her, sheltered her, and cherished her above all others. Because of her, he learned compassion and mercy, but he also developed a consuming obsession. He regarded her as the jewel in his crown, and vowed to keep her by his side for the rest of his life. Theme: Be brave for love