Three Trials at Qing Pass

He is history's most celebrated and consummate ruler, the one who commands the tides of change.

She is an unnamed heroine forgotten by history, nowhere to be found, yet everywhere at once.

As a child, he stumbled forward; as a youth, he strove to learn; as a young man, he basked in success; and in his prime, he ascended to the throne. He sat securely at the empire's peak for sixty years, manipulating powerful ministers and brilliant generals as though they were in the palm of his hand, and bringing the prosperity of a golden age to all corners of the realm. He gave free rein to his ambitions as a man and claimed every glory history could offer.

When she first arrived, she was at once naive and perceptive, fragile and sensitive, headstrong and stubborn. She could never escape contradictions and mistakes. She was history's captive, a clown who ran from reality, unable to escape constraint and conquest. Yet history brought her into history, and her knowledge of what was to come gave her the courage to face the unknown.

His surname was Aisin Gioro, the most exalted name in the empire. His name was Hongli, a name that shines brighter than any other in history.

She never made history shake. History begrudged her even a trace of ink. She devoted herself to her own life, yet still came to possess a legend of her own.

This is a story of transmigration to the Qing dynasty, spanning the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. There are tears and laughter, joy and sorrow.

Since this is not an alternate history, and historical records about the Qing are exceptionally detailed, the story inevitably touches on many historical issues. I am not a professional historian, but out of respect for history, I will not recklessly rewrite it or throw all the popular historical figures into one pot.

Still, a novel is a novel. I only want to write about the characters and relationships as I imagine them. The historical figures will no longer be distant shadows in the history books; they will all be characters, great and small, in our story.

Let me make this perfectly clear: the male lead is Hongli, not Sisi, Baxi, Jiujiu, Shishi, Shisan, Shisi...

One thing I must say, sincerely: I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, everyone. More than three years have passed before I've come back. I've been very busy these past three years, but I've never forgotten Hongli and Qian Ning. Whenever I missed them, I'd steal a little time to write a few hundred words, or even just a few dozen. I kept them company as they slowly moved forward.

I know everyone's busy too. Maybe the readers from three years ago have already forgotten them, and maybe new readers don't know them yet. But it doesn't matter. I'm back, and so are they. The story will go on, and I hope you'll come back too.

Thanks for being here. O(∩_∩)O