Bound in the Palace

All the kites Xie Hanyan flew as a girl were made by Pei Jingyuan.

She would tell him, delighted and excited, "Brother Pei, the kites you make can fly all the way up to the clouds."

Pei Jingyuan would reply, "If you like them, I'll make kites for you for the rest of my life."

Xie Hanyan was the legitimate daughter of an aristocratic family, while Pei Jingyuan was the heir to the throne.

They grew up together, envied by everyone.

When Xie Hanyan turned fifteen, she came of age and married Pei Jingyuan, becoming empress.

At the time, she stood high above everyone, like the bright moon in the sky, while Pei Jingyuan was no more than a puppet in the hands of her aunt, the Empress Dowager.

He doted on her, indulged her, and gave her everything she wanted. The imperial harem might as well have been empty.

*

After years of lying low, Pei Jingyuan finally seized power. The Xie family was the first to fall by his hand.

Their childhood affection and young-married love were nothing but a beautiful dream.

He had never loved Xie Hanyan. Every member of the Xie family disgusted and repulsed him. One day he would become a wise emperor whose achievements would be praised for generations.

And he would use Xie Hanyan only to humiliate her for the rest of her life, leaving her with nothing but a terrible reputation after death.

He issued an edict stripping her of her title as empress and demoting her to the lowest rank of concubine. As for why he didn't kill her, he hadn't tortured her yet. How could he let her die an easy death?

He truly believed all that. But when the palace where she lived burned to ashes, his hand trembled uncontrollably around the teacup.

The kite from his youth didn't just fly up to the clouds. It flew into his heart, too.

Only when he looked back did he realize that even if he gave everything, even his life, he could never make her smile at him again.

Reading guide:

Forced love;

The chase-after-your-wife crematorium trope;

Happy ending;

Theme: Serve the people and bring prosperity to the nation