The newly appointed jinshi, Lu Yanting, has a face as handsome as jade and extraordinary talent.
Zhao Yan, the emperor's most beloved Princess Huaining, fell in love at first sight with him at the Qionglin Banquet and begged to be betrothed to him.
Their wedding was set for the sixth day of the tenth month, and Zhao Yan eagerly awaited her marriage.
But just as she was about to leave, she had a strange dream inside her bridal sedan.
In the dream, the man she loved, gentle as jade, wore black armor and broke into the imperial city at night. He personally killed her Crown Prince brother in the Eastern Palace and launched a coup.
The court was thrown into turmoil, battered by wind and rain.
Her fifteenth younger brother, who had only just learned to walk, was supported by Lu Yanting to take the throne and became his puppet.
Lu Yanting, meanwhile, wielded immense power and monopolized the government.
When she woke, a long, slender finger lifted the sedan curtain.
Lu Yanting's cold, distant expression was exactly the same as in the dream on their wedding day.
Zhao Yan was filled with unease. As she stepped out of the sedan, she stumbled into Lu Yanting's arms.
The familiar scent of ink made her head buzz.
The hall was full of guests, gongs and drums thundered, and swallows perched above the red lanterns.
Unable to tell dream from reality, Zhao Yan forgot all royal decorum, pushed Lu Yanting away, and publicly fled her own wedding!
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Princess Huaining refused to marry the newly appointed top scholar.
She locked herself in her bedchamber and would rather die than give in.
The emperor flew into a rage, but had no choice. He stripped her of her title and confined her for three months.
On the day her confinement ended, Zhao Yan went out for some fresh air and happened to meet Lu Yanting in the imperial garden.
Her eyelashes quivered, and she turned to leave.
But Lu Yanting trapped her among the artificial rocks.
The top scholar, so bright and noble in public, twirled a lock of her hair and said nonchalantly, “Princess, do you remember now?”
He smiled. “If you remember, then you should know.”
Lu Yanting's voice was calm, cool as jade.
It was the very voice she had once praised and fallen for, yet now it sent a chill over the back of her neck.
“Princess, in this life, you can only marry me.”
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Cover used with permission: Yuexia Midi
Screenshot archived on 2022/4/30
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