Imperial Sister

[Updated daily at midnight]

After Yu Wanqiao was murdered, her spirit wandered among the living.

Only then did she learn that the one who ultimately ascended the throne was her sixth younger brother, Yu Chengyuan, whom their father and mother had never cared for.

Her younger brother was a bona fide madman.

He murdered his brothers to seize the throne. During his reign, he was bloodthirsty and capricious. He even had her grave dug up and her coffin placed in his bedchamber.

Not long afterward, he set himself and her coffin ablaze.

-

Reborn, the first thing Yu Wanqiao did was go to the Cold Palace to deal with that "madman," who had no power or influence yet.

But when she saw him on a snowy night, dressed in rags and being trampled and mocked by palace maids and eunuchs, she suddenly felt compassion for him.

From then on, she secretly protected him for years. With her guidance, he shed his vicious nature and became as sweet and well-behaved as any child his age.

Until the year Yu Wanqiao turned nineteen, when an imperial decree ordering her to marry off into another kingdom arrived at Zhaohua Palace.

That night, a violent storm raged. A figure burst into her bedchamber, and the cold flash of lightning revealed Yu Chengyuan's shadowed, anguished face.

Rain streamed from the hem of the young man's black robe, and a heavy stench of blood clung to him.

Yu Wanqiao felt as if she were looking once more at the cold, lonely boy from years ago.

She rose to greet him, but before she could speak, he kissed her.

He held her like a madman. Amid the thunder, his voice trembled with desperate pleading. "Sister, please don't abandon Chengyuan."

Later, the Northern Di cavalry breached the capital of Great Zhou. Smoke filled the wilderness, loved ones betrayed one another, and the nation crumbled.

The young man she had once saved, covered in mud, struggled to shoulder their shattered lives.

On a stormy night in a ruined temple outside the city, the young man held her as she trembled and fell apart. "Sister, we'll get through this." From then on, he stayed by her side as they slowly climbed out of the mud.

#YoungerMaleLead #MutualSalvation

*The leads are not related by blood.

-- Upcoming: After My Childhood Friend Turns Dark --

Zhu Yuntiao and Lu Zhan grew up together. Lu Zhan loved her, and both families intended for them to marry.

But just days before the wedding, Zhu Yuntiao found Lu Zhan and told him she had long loved someone else. Lu Zhan was arrogant and childish, and she had never cared for him.

Lu Zhan begged her desperately, eyes red, but Zhu Yuntiao broke the wooden hairpin he had given her right in front of him, decisively severing their relationship.

Trembling, Lu Zhan picked up the broken pieces one by one. He stared at Zhu Yuntiao for a long time, then gave a cold laugh, his voice full of hatred.

"Zhu Yuntiao, don't regret this."

A few days later, the Zhu family betrayed the Lu family, resulting in the entire Lu family being exiled.

-

They met again at a friend's banquet.

As Great Zhou's youngest Prince-General, Lu Zhan commanded a powerful army and held a position of great authority. Everyone present fawned over him and sought to curry favor.

The man wore black brocade robes and idly held a wine cup. His sharply defined face showed no emotion.

Then his friend's subordinate arrived with his family.

Lu Zhan looked up. When he met those doe-like, pitiful eyes, he suddenly smiled.

He said to his friend's subordinate:

"I've heard that Young Master Li and his wife are deeply devoted to each other. Seeing you together, I can tell the rumors are true."

As soon as the man finished speaking, everyone present turned uneasy. They couldn't help recalling the past, when this Mrs. Li, Zhu, and General Lu had nearly been married.

That night, after several rounds of drinks, Lu Zhan, reeking of alcohol, tugged Zhu Yuntiao's sash loose in his friend's guest room.

"Do you see now? Even without a grand bridal procession, I can have you whenever I want. Your own husband has delivered you to my bed with his own hands."

The woman in his arms trembled, and her muffled sobs reached his ears.

As dawn broke, Lu Zhan dressed and got out of bed. Looking down at her with scorn, he said lightly:

"Mrs. Li was nothing special. I'm actually glad I didn't marry you back then. If you'd been this dull, I'd have tired of you long ago."

-

Later, Zhu Yuntiao couldn't take it anymore and ran away.

Lu Zhan caught her and locked her in the dungeon.

The chains rattled violently. Lu Zhan gripped her waist and looked coldly down at her unfocused eyes, his voice full of hatred.

"Are you running again? Zhu Yuntiao, you haven't finished paying the Zhu family's debt."

Theme: A beacon of light in the darkness