Autumn Wind Song

The renowned literary talent Ye Qingxuan once had a secret, fleeting romance in her youth.

Calling it a romance was a stretch. They never held a wedding, never spoke of their deepest feelings, and never shared any romantic moments.

"Then what did you do together?"

"Read books. Practiced calligraphy. Cultivated our character."

"...As expected of intellectuals."

She didn't answer. She was thinking of a snowy night many years ago, lit by a pale white glow. A dark-haired figure, bloodstained and dazzling, had burst into the Peach Blossom Haven with the wind and snow swirling in from outside the window. Then upheavals that shook the empire had swept in, while the warmth beside her pillow had not yet faded.

Years later, on another night bright with lamplight, they would meet again.

The young sing of ambition, but the road through life is hard.

From the brink of death to a name recorded in the annals of history, the journey was marked by an indifferent imperial court, hard-to-find friends, the brazen rise of the ungrateful, and the elevation of the faithless to high office.

Who will call them back into your arms?

"You want to change the world, don't you? That's a fine ambition."

Someday, I too will become someone like you.

"With you here, why should I care whether history remembers me?"

[Cold, aloof older woman X dashing, carefree literary talent]

Confidantes / rivals / younger woman / coming-of-age / groveling arc

Note: This story is part of the same series as my completed novel A Heart Like the Autumn Moon. They can be read independently.

Theme: True affection is precious, beyond the price of gold.