Splendor Like Flames

[The main text has been revised. Please support the official version. The pirated version is full of errors.] Jiang Yin was sent to assassinate the court's greatest traitor, Lu Chenfeng, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard. He was sinister, ruthless, and so cruel that people trembled at the mention of his name. After fighting him and falling off a cliff, Jiang Yin opened her eyes to find herself in the Imperial Guard's prison. A cold, damp iron cell, lit by a flickering oil lamp. Lu Chenfeng stood beneath the wavering shadows in a vermilion flying-fish uniform, like a vengeful ghost. He glanced over, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Who sent you?" He held a Xiuchun saber and slowly lifted the strip of human skin that had fallen at his feet. Badly injured and unable to use her inner strength, Jiang Yin trembled and clung to Lu Chenfeng's leg to save her life. In a soft voice, she called him "husband" and made up a tragic tale of a modern-day Wang Baochuan. Lu Chenfeng knew she was putting on an act. He wanted to use her to lure in the bigger fish, so he played along and took her back to the Imperial Guard's headquarters. While recovering, Jiang Yin became a lovesick woman. Whenever she looked at Lu Chenfeng, her eyes brimmed with adoration and affection. She called him "husband" again and again in a sweet, coquettish voice. She cooked for him, washed his clothes, and mended them with her own hands. At night, while he read, she sat beside him grinding ink and tending the lamp, the very picture of a devoted wife. She played to perfection the role of a sweet young wife who was elegant in public and alluring in private, waiting only for the right moment to slip away once she achieved her goal. Lu Chenfeng's trusted subordinate warned him, "Sir, don't let her fool you." Lu Chenfeng replied with calm confidence, "Don't worry. I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm only playing along to use her." Later... The subordinate reported, "Sir, Miss Jiang has left." Lu Chenfeng's heart gave a violent lurch. His eyes reddened at once. Ignoring his subordinates' protests, he rode a thousand miles through the night to catch up with her. --- Half a lifetime of hardship, blood on my hands, and then I met you like a blaze of fire. [A flirtatious, scheming little assassin x a ruthless, roguish commander] . #The leads flirt and scheme against each other, both wanting to control the other but neither willing to be controlled.# #The male lead seems seductive and roguish, but is actually restrained and patient.# #The female lead tries every trick in the book to use her beauty to make the male lead lose control, while he turns the tables and uses his own charms to seduce her.# P.S. An alternate world, with heaps of original worldbuilding. Please forgive the author's limited skill. Next novel: "Spring Breeze Is Hard to Cross" Blurb: The first time Du Jinyu saw Lu Zongyao, it was in a portrait. Her family was arranging a marriage for her, and portraits of sons from distinguished families arrived at her home in stack after stack. She could hardly be bothered to look at them, until Lu Zongyao's portrait was blown by the wind to her feet. His face was proud and fierce, with a high nose and deep-set eyes, and brows sharp as if carved by a blade. He was like a keen sword, piercing straight into her heart. "I'll take him." Her slender, pale fingertip rested on the portrait. But he rejected her, saying that the noblewomen of the capital were stiff and boring. She met Lu Zongyao in person when she traveled to the borderlands with her maternal grandfather. They crossed paths at a mountain pass. He sat astride his horse before the city gate, holding a saber, his phoenix eyes sharp and frosty. Everyone said that Liangzhou was bitterly cold and spring breezes could barely reach it, just like Lu Zongyao: cold, unfeeling, and impossible to approach. So what? She was determined to cross that distance and get close to him. Later, turmoil erupted at court, and she hurried back to the capital. They met again on a Chang'an street lined with icicles. His gaze was fierce as he pressed her against the wall, his thumb brushing her glistening lips. "Marry me, and I'll protect the Du family for you." Du Jinyu gently straightened his collar. "Liangzhou is bitterly cold. Take care of yourself." Her father and uncles were successively demoted, and the Du family suffered a tremendous blow. She entered the palace as a court lady, and from then on they were separated by a great distance. Two years later, she returned to Liangzhou under a secret imperial order to investigate him. "Du Jinyu, how dare you?" He lifted his head from her neck, his eyes seeming to bleed. That night, the red candles burned on as they tangled in the blankets. . On the night of the Lantern Festival, a palace coup broke out. The rebels entered the city, and guards dragged her, shackled, into Yong'an Palace, its great hall stained with blood. By then, he was a powerful border official with a large army at his command. Even Prince Qi, who had staged the coup, had to defer to him. As the palace doors closed, everyone wondered how terribly the general would torment the female chancellor who had held power for years. . No one knew that the aloof, proud General Lu was carefully holding Du Jinyu in his arms and kissing her with careful restraint, asking "Do you love me?" after every kiss. "Du Jinyu, I only want to ask you one thing. Have you ever thought of me all these years? If you say yes, I'll help you rise to the top." Du Jinyu smiled and gently touched the scar on his brow. "Lu Zongyao, I've kept you waiting long enough." * An alternate Tang dynasty, with heaps of original worldbuilding. No historical nitpicking, please. Essentially a sweet romance, focused on the relationship with a little political intrigue and just a hint of angst mixed into the sugar. Please don't complain if it's not to your taste. Let's enjoy the story in harmony. Thank you! Theme: Keep warmth in your heart, no matter the hour