Jiang Pan'er was the palace's most inconspicuous cleaning maid. Her father had sold her into the palace when she was ten, and now she had only half a year left until she turned twenty-five. Then she could leave the palace and return home to marry her fiance.
On a winter night as cold as any other, she accidentally witnessed Prince Qin meeting one of the palace ladies amid the falling snow.
The next day, sunlight shone on the pepper walls and plum blossoms stood proud, but she went blind.
An older, blind palace maid driven out of the palace was unwanted by her father and a disgrace to her mother. Even the man she'd been promised to refused to give her a single decent meal.
So she risked her life to confront the culprit: Prince Qin, who had slaughtered countless foes and suffered from a hidden ailment.
In the depths of winter, she knelt on the ice and clutched his robes, refusing to let go. She was terribly inarticulate. Even with her face flushed from the effort, all she could manage was an unappealing remark.
"Your Highness, you can't perform, but I can be your concubine."
*
Xiao Ze had lived on horseback since the age of ten. But twelve years of war and countless military achievements had earned him less fame than the three years he'd spent stirring up the court.
One snowy night, deep within the palace, he met an old friend, but a palace maid happened to see them. More unfortunate still, that maid went blind overnight.
When they met again, she begged him hoarsely to take her as his concubine. He was intent on seizing the throne and had no interest in women.
But this supposedly blind palace maid insisted he couldn't perform, and promised to keep his secret meetings under wraps.
Fine, very well. He would take her as his blind concubine and see how long she could keep pretending.
Later, she did stop pretending to be blind, and started acting dumb instead.
The palace chamber was filled with warm fragrance. After their secret, satisfying trysts, he found himself countless times thinking of making her his empress.
He gently brushed her slightly rounded belly and coaxed her with practiced ease: "Jiang Jiang, I can perform. It's time you gave me a proper title, too."
Note: This is a completely fictional setting, one-on-one, and a sweet romance.
Theme: I just want to live a good life
