In the third year of Qinghe, Xie Yuwen was defeated in the northwest. Heartbroken and disillusioned, he handed back his military tally and returned to the capital to accept punishment.
Once the favored son of heaven, he fell from grace and exiled himself to a villa outside the capital. Life there was hard, dull, and tasteless.
But before long, a lively young lady moved in next door.
No one knew what the young lady had done, but her parents had sent her there against her will to recuperate.
Her recovery was a loud, chaotic affair that turned the place upside down.
On her third day there, Huo Wan struggled to climb onto the wall and yelled for help at the sickly young man next door. Xie Yuwen watched as her nursemaid carried her back inside, received a whole basketful of glares from the girl, and lowered his head to sip his tea.
Two months later, Huo Wan leaned over the wall again, beaming. “Brother Xie, the apricots on the back hill are ripe! I'll bring you some.”
For the first time, he took the initiative to open his courtyard gate and step outside, all to accompany Huo Wan as she picked those unbearably sour apricots.
Huo Wan was too spoiled to eat them, so she tossed them all to him to make wine.
Later, she hurriedly knocked on his gate again, hiding behind him. “Brother Xie, save me!”
Xie Yuwen set down the apricot wine, picked up the sword he'd left untouched for so long, and pointed it at the Fifth Prince, who had come to claim her. His voice was cold. “Who dares take her away?”
He looked every bit like the young general who had once held back a million soldiers with a single sword.
The Fifth Prince, forced to play the villain, glanced at his little sister, who was baring her teeth behind him. “I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare.”
Wait for me to pluck you a branch of spring.
One-on-one, both clean, happy ending
Theme: Finding new life in hardship
