After Dai fell, Rong Ji, called a calamity who brought ruin to her country, was ordered to be hanged by the King of Dai.
As she lay dying, a cold arrow pierced the eunuch between the brows, and she fell into the arms of a man scented with orchids and blood.
By then, Gongyi Jianbai was a Wei prince renowned across the four kingdoms: gentle, inscrutable, and so clever he seemed almost demonic.
He saved Rong Ji only because of the inexplicable, bone-deep pain that struck him that day.
At first, every move made by this delicate, bewitching woman, who could only shed tears and flatter others when trouble arose, seemed deliberately seductive. For no reason, she kept stirring his heart.
Gongyi Jianbai once thought he must have been bewitched. He felt nothing for her but indifference and distance.
Later, the two kingdoms became enemies. Rong Ji went alone to Zhao, abandoning him as she fled.
No one at court hesitated to mock her as an ungrateful monster.
But that night, Gongyi Jianbai saw Rong Ji again in a dream.
She had lost her breath and lay quietly in a coffin. No matter how he coaxed or pleaded with her, she wouldn't speak to him again.
From that night on, the proud young prince seemed to lose his mind.
In the bitter snow of the north, he ignored his ministers' objections and led troops to intercept Rong Ji's carriage, taking her back from the Zhao chancellor by force.
On the journey back to court, even his closest friend couldn't understand why a woman had bewitched him so completely that he would risk everything by resorting to force.
Gongyi Jianbai said nothing. He only turned to look at the woman in the warm carriage, drawing her brows before a mirror, the same woman others condemned as "cold and heartless." He gave a helpless, bitter smile. "In both my lives, she's the only person I've ever wanted. How could I bear to abandon her?"
[Content warnings]
1. Gentle, restrained nobleman x beautiful, clear-eyed woman who rose from humble beginnings.
2. Older woman and younger man. The female lead is not a virgin and is irresistible to everyone.
3. Mostly serious in tone. Entirely fictional setting, with no historical accuracy intended. The female lead only wants to survive at first.
4. The male lead has fragments of memories from his previous life. The female lead is the only woman in both his lives.
Theme: Striving tirelessly toward a better future
