When Liu Che first met her, he stood with his little face set in earnest determination and said, "If I can take A Jiao as my wife, I’ll have a golden house built to keep her in."
One was the young, old-soul Prince of Jiaodong; the other, the daughter of a noble princess, raised in wealth and honor. When he first made his promise to build a golden house for her, she must have been happy.
Perhaps love and resentment were part of their story in the long river of history. But when affection became entangled with the scheming of the imperial court and an emperor’s ambitions, where could her innocence and feelings go?
She still remembered Liu Che saying, "A Jiao, I’m scared. I’m afraid I won’t become a good emperor. I’m afraid the people will be left wandering without homes. I’m afraid... But as long as you’re by my side, A Jiao, I’m not afraid of anything."
She married the boy she had always longed for. Even if it meant falling into an abyss, she would have no regrets.
Theme: Sweet, angsty, and understated
There's Gillian's new article to read again, so cheers!