Blurb
Pei Zhao, Commander of the Imperial Guard, holds a high position and commands all the armies. His hands are stained with countless lives. Everyone knows him as a cruel, obsessive devil incarnate.
The Nanyang Marquis's household has recently acknowledged a sixth daughter, Cui Qu. With cheeks as fair as snow and a face like a flower, she is as exquisite as a doll. But because she is mute, she is unwelcome.
At the Mengchun Banquet, Cui Qu was framed by her eldest sister. When she awoke, her clothes were disheveled, and the person lying beside her was none other than the bloodthirsty Pei Zhao.
Everyone in the marquis's household assumed she had spent a wild night with him and lost her chastity.
The old marquis swallowed his pride and petitioned the Emperor for a marriage, intending to marry the sixth daughter off to Pei Zhao and silence the gossip.
Everyone in Lin'an said that the sixth daughter would either die or go mad if she ended up with Pei Zhao. One day, Cui Qu accidentally slipped and stepped into a muddy patch.
Her brand-new dress was spattered with mud, and she was humiliated in front of everyone.
Then the newly powerful court official Pei Zhao, decisive and ruthless, walked toward her with a grim expression.
Cui Qu had only just recovered her voice, and the first thing she said was his childhood name.
Everyone present knew he had a past he refused to discuss, and they couldn't help worrying for the sixth daughter.
But the Asura who had come through mountains of corpses and seas of fire crouched down on one knee, let her sit on his knee, and gently wiped the mud from the hem of her skirt, bit by bit.
[Bonus Scene]
After returning home, Pei Zhao's greatest pleasure was shutting the doors and teaching A Qu how to speak.
One day, a subordinate happened to pass by the corridor and saw through the half-closed window...
Lord Pei had backed her into a corner. "Do you still remember what I taught you yesterday?"
A Qu nodded, clutched his collar, and called him one word at a time: "Brother A Nian..."
Pei Zhao stroked her head, and the image of a dainty little girl gradually appeared in his mind.
"My name is Sui Sui. From now on, would you call me Brother Nian Nian?"
"Because every year, we'll be together on this day."
*If daylight comes, I'll watch it with you. If we fall into the mud, I'll fall with you.*
[Reading Guide]
1. They heal each other
2. Includes household infighting
3. Set in an alternate Southern Song dynasty, with many fictional elements
Theme: Never give up, never abandon each other
