The first snow fell upon the world, and lanterns and decorations filled every street in Jinling.
I died on my wedding day, at the very hour deemed most auspicious.
From the day I was born, I was the little princess of Wei, cherished by everyone. Ten years ago, I met the hostage prince, Gong Huaijin, and fell for him at first sight.
After ten years of deep devotion, I watched Wei's capital fall. He led his troops in slaughtering all 120 members of the imperial family in the Wei capital.
Dressed in armor, Gong Huaijin held a sword stained with my elder brother's blood and drew his beloved into his arms. He said casually, "Changning is a criminal. How could she be fit to be my wife?"
I smiled at him, my red robes blazing like fire, and leaped from the top of the Star-Picking Tower.
As I breathed my last, I thought of the look in my elder brother's eyes, full of indignation, as I knelt before Gong Huaijin like a beaten dog:
"Changning, you are the princess of Wei!"
When I opened my eyes again,
young Gong Huaijin lay wounded in the imperial garden, like a dying beast.
This time, as the crowd gathered around me, I didn't spare him a glance. As I walked past, I clearly heard the brittle sound of me stepping on the scattered, broken petals before him.
I tilted my head slightly toward the young stable hand kneeling with his head bowed nearby, and smiled. "I want him."
-
Luo Liu was the lowliest of stable hands. Born an orphan, he had suffered all the world's cruelty.
He thought his fate was sealed, until that day beneath the peonies in the imperial garden, when the most precious jewel of Wei reached out to him with careless grace.
Later,
Wei's borders would stretch across the four corners of the land.
In the grand hall, the empress would issue her decree.
His silver-hook bow cold, the young general rode in fine clothes upon a spirited horse.
My sovereign Changning, I will spend my life leveling mountains and filling seas for you, opening new lands and expanding your realm.
Theme: Strive and work hard
