[Early writing, proceed with caution.]
Xi Ling Qian vaguely remembered that the great fire had brought her clan to ruin when she was eight, leaving her family destroyed and her loved ones dead.
In a single night, the Ye family fell from power in the imperial court.
Ten years later, she changed her name and became the proprietress of a tavern, quietly gathering information from within.
She knew all too well that the fire had not been an accident.
Yet on her road to revenge, Xi Ling Qian met a powerful man.
He was both the renowned master of Xuan Ye Valley, famous throughout the martial world, and the Marquis of Yunzhou at court.
What she didn't know was that he had been investigating her identity all along.
"You are Ye Qi."
His quiet words that day inadvertently awakened memories of the ten years she had buried deep in her heart.
The fire, the manor, her parents, her younger sister...
Countless scenes overlapped, and images of the past flashed through her mind again and again, as hatred took root and spread.
"What are you really after?" she asked.
She had already given up all hope, but the answer she received was not what she expected.
"I'll walk this road with you."
So she donned her red robes once more and danced before the imperial court, venturing into danger.
He investigated in secret and made a promise: for all their lives, they would stay together.
Reader's notes:
1. A tavern proprietress devoted to revenge x a cunning marquis with multiple identities
2. Early writing, proceed with caution. (The author is cringing at their own writing, not really.)
Theme: A memorable tale of the martial world, of understanding and standing by each other, faithful unto death.
