Abduction and domination (the ruler takes his minister's wife) / melodrama / an old flame reignited
Mad, domineering new emperor x frail noblewoman of a fallen dynasty
The rebel army storms the capital of the Liang dynasty. Jiang Xu, daughter of the former prime minister, is treated as spoils of war and given as a wife to General Zhou Cheng by Yin Yong, the rebel leader.
Yin Yong and Zhou Cheng raised their banners together and were as close as brothers.
After the new dynasty is established, Yin Yong ascends the throne, and Zhou Cheng is executed for treason.
By then, Jiang Xu is already carrying Zhou Cheng's child. Yin Yong brings her to the imperial palace and keeps her there under the name of house arrest.
Jiang Xu's ink-black hair hangs loose. Kneeling before Yin Yong, she raises both hands and looks up at him, her face filled with fear and sorrow. She is like a bird so terrified it's on the verge of collapse, vulnerable to a fatal blow from the slightest disturbance.
Before her, Yin Yong lifts the swaddled infant, playing with it as he casually says, "Good child, you can be the remnant of a traitor, exiled, conscripted, and beheaded, or you can be my third son, granted a royal title that will last for generations. It all depends on a single thought from your mother. I'll give you a chance. Beg your mother to secure you a bright future!"
Grief fills Jiang Xu's eyes as she reaches for the jade belt around Yin Yong's waist. The jade is icy cold, and its chill makes her whole body tremble.
Like a white bird drenched by the rain, Jiang Xu collapses before Yin Yong.
Awkwardly, trembling, yet resolutely, she unfastens his belt.
Overcome by pain, Jiang Xu can't help softly calling the name she's kept buried in her heart.
Zhou Cheng.
Realizing what she's done, Jiang Xu bites her own wrist and weeps in humiliation.
Yin Yong pulls his bloodied wrist from between her teeth, puts his fingers in her mouth, and tears at her ear. His voice is full of hatred as he says, "I know you resent me. Fine, resent me, hate me, wish me dead if you like. But understand this: whether alive or dead, the only one before you can be me!"
Theme: The boundary between love and hate.
