A Joyous Lamp Blossom

Xiao Dingrou was the most esteemed princess of the Daying Dynasty, Princess Yongchang.

But her father and brother were good-for-nothings who did nothing but write poetry, and she herself was all beauty and no substance, soft as a flower.

With the court in turmoil and Duke of Wei Huo Pingzhang so powerful that he overshadowed the throne, her father had a sudden impulse and tearfully issued an edict to marry her off to the Duke of Wei's household to seal an alliance.

At the news, Xiao Dingrou's vision went black, and she fainted.

According to rumors, Huo Pingzhang was brutal and bloodthirsty, and had even eaten human flesh and drunk blood while trapped behind enemy lines. His green face and fangs were said to frighten children into silence.

Xiao Dingrou only believed half of it. She had seen Huo Pingzhang when she was young, and he certainly hadn't had a green face and fangs.

But now, all she could remember was how, as a naive little girl, she'd abused her power and forced the proud young boy to the ground to play horsey...

After their marriage, Xiao Dingrou tried to keep the peace between them. But she loved romance and moonlit flowers, while he loved practicing with blades and spears.

She made sure everything she ate and wore was exquisite down to the last strand of hair, while he made the trip to the military camp every day, rain or shine.

She had a thirty-six-step ritual of incense and bathing to let her marinade to perfection every night, while he got the job done with one bucket of cold water.

They were incompatible in every way, from head to toe, inside and out.

Yet the way her husband looked at her was like a steel blade scraping her bones, so very... dark.

Then, one day at the Qionglin Banquet, Xiao Dingrou exchanged no more than a glance with the newly crowned top scholar. The hand around her waist suddenly tightened, and the man at her side leaned down to whisper gently in her ear, "If the princess keeps exchanging glances with him, I'll gouge out his eyes."

The top scholar was Xiao Dingrou's childhood sweetheart.

When they were children, they played house: her sweetheart was the groom, and Huo Pingzhang was the horse carrying the bride.

Theme: Your fate is in your own hands.