["You came back for revenge?"]
["...Yeah."]
*
In the year Jiang Lanzhao turned nineteen, the long-declining Prince Su's household exhausted every connection and tactic at its disposal to find her a good match.
She was delighted. Her fiancé had a bright future, and might be able to guarantee her a lifetime of wealth and glory.
To make the marriage happen, she steeled herself and cut ties with her sworn elder brother, Jiang Xiaoce, with whom she had secretly fallen in love.
That night, even after Prince Su broke three willow switches over him, Jiang Xiaoce did not change a single word of his story.
He spat blood as he declared, each word firm:
"I've loved Lanzhao for years. I want to be her husband."
Even battered and bloody, with his skin torn and flesh exposed, Jiang Xiaoce crawled toward her and clung to the vermilion hem of Jiang Lanzhao's skirt, humbly begging her to take pity on him and not abandon him.
But the heartless, cold-blooded young woman looked at him with disgust and kicked his hand away.
Jiang Xiaoce gave up.
*
Jiang Xiaoce's leg was broken, and he was driven out of the capital by Prince Su's household. His whereabouts became unknown, and rumors said he had died a tragic death, leaving no remains.
Two years later, a young general rose to fame in the southern frontier.
Jiang Lanzhao heard a few things about him, but paid them no mind.
One late night, her husband had already fallen asleep, and she was just about to go to bed herself.
Suddenly, someone climbed in through the window, holding a long sword, his whole body reeking of blood.
Jiang Lanzhao retreated in terror, then suddenly heard a voice in the darkness, achingly familiar and filled with bone-deep hatred:
"Lanzhao, it's been a long time. Do you know who I am?"
*
[Reading Guide]
1. The protagonists are not related by blood and are not on the same household registration. Everyone knows they are not biological siblings. "Brother" is just a form of address and does not imply a blood relationship.
2. The wealth and glory the heroine wants are actually in her own hands, not her fiancé's, and certainly not the hero's.
3. The hero's craziness mainly shows in his desire to be the heroine's dog. He's normally a sane person, but if she won't let him be her dog, he gets anxious and loses it.
Theme: Don't delay. Make your decision decisively.
