Blurb
There is a beauty in the north, peerless and alone.
Xu Yize was born into a powerful family and betrothed to Xiao Xu'an, Prince of Huai'an, when she was young. The day before their wedding, an imperial decree condemned the entire Xu family. The men were executed, and the women were sent to serve as courtesans for the authorities.
That day, crimson stained the ground.
That night, an endless sea of fire
burned away the last of the Xu family's bloodline.
Everyone in Chang'an knew that Prince Xiao Xu'an was deeply devoted to his fiancée. Defying public opinion, he posthumously made the minister's daughter, who had perished in the flames, his princess consort, and mourned her for three years.
What a touching love story, doomed to end in tragedy. Xu Yize curled her red lips in a deeply mocking smile.
In her previous life, he had saved her when she was about to set herself on fire and told her that doing so would only hurt those who loved her and please her enemies. She had to live on for her family.
For revenge, she changed her appearance and entered the palace, enduring humiliation and hardship. She not only avenged her family, but also helped him plot his rise.
Only after the new emperor took the throne did she realize that the truth she'd believed was merely a tiny part of the whole picture.
She had trusted the wrong person. Childhood sweethearts, my foot. From beginning to end, she had been nothing more than a pawn in his game.
Those who scheme against others will be schemed against in turn. In this life and the last, she would take back, one by one, everything that had been stolen from her.
Fame and fortune, she wanted.
The phoenix throne, she wanted.
Even the whole realm, she wanted.
*
Luo Chengxuan won top honors as a young man. In just a few years, he rose to become the emperor's close confidant and Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Emperor Cheng had been wise for most of his life, but in old age he became lost in his love of beauty.
In the imperial study, Luo Chengxuan saw the emperor's favorite consort for the first time. In her flamboyant red robes, she was bewitching and wild, and plainly had the power to bring a country to ruin.
From her eyes, he could tell she was hiding a secret.
After testing her several times,
Xu Yize toyed with the hairpin in her hand and said with a bright smile, "Lord Luo, it's best not to meddle in other people's business."
Luo Chengxuan smiled faintly. "One should not meddle in affairs beyond one's station. That hairpin looks sharp. Be careful not to hurt your hand, Your Highness."
Later, when he learned of Xu Yize's deep hatred, every furrow of her brow pained him. He willingly became the blade in her hand.
Her great revenge was accomplished, and her young son inherited the throne.
She asked him, "Lord Luo, what is it you want?"
A gentle breeze brushed his hair as Luo Chengxuan kissed the red mole behind her ear. "Your servant only wants the Empress Dowager to live for herself."
Reading Guide
1. The heroine has had sexual experience; the hero is a virgin. Happy ending. The male lead is a minister.
2. Important: the heroine has a son with the old emperor. Please think carefully before reading if this bothers you.
3. The romance is melodramatic. The heroine isn't love-struck and may become unhinged.
Theme: Take life's warmth and cold in stride, and face wind, frost, rain, and snow head-on.
