A friend entrusted Rong Du with his five-year-old adopted sister, and from then on, Rong Du lived a life of going out to work as an assassin and coming home to take care of a child.
He had to soothe her when she cried, feed her when she was hungry, and braid her hair when it got messy... She clung to him and murmured in her sleep, "Mom..."
Fifteen-year-old Rong Du sighed and quietly corrected her. "I'm your big brother, not your mom."
The young assassin, cold and hard-hearted to the outside world, gave his sister every last bit of tenderness and patience he had. He sent her to school to begin her studies, then found her a master to learn medicine from... He was an assassin who lived in the shadows, but he hoped his sister would grow into a dazzling sun.
As the years passed, his sister grew into a bright-eyed, beautiful young woman, and became the well-known "Little Doctor Yun" of Qingzhou City.
When Rong Du learned that his sister was the emperor's long-lost third princess, he wasn't surprised that people from the palace would plot to get rid of him.
He had never minded. More than ten years together had been enough to satisfy him. If he was a stain in his sister's life that she could never speak of, then there was no harm in erasing him.
But as he lay dying, seeing his sister's tears spill over and hearing her heartbroken cries, Rong Du felt a pain and regret that pierced him to the bone.
-
Yun Yao was the third princess of the Jin Dynasty, but as a child, she stumbled upon a terrible secret and had to fake her death to escape.
Her mother had died, and Uncle Shen, who had helped her flee, was gone too. When little Yun Yao was terrified and lost, Rong Du gave her a small, safe world to call her own. He cooked for her, coaxed her into getting dressed, and braided her hair... If she wanted the stars, he would pluck them down; if she wanted the moon, he would give it to her.
As the years passed, a young girl's feelings spread like wild grass. Yun Yao looked at the handsome young man she had called her big brother for twelve years, and her childhood dependence turned into love.
But before she could confess her feelings, her brother died, and she was taken back to the imperial palace. From then on, they were separated by life and death.
Until one day, at the Lantern Festival, Yun Yao spotted a young man in black standing with a sword at his side. She ran after him in a panic, just as he had once taken her by the hand, and clutched his long-fingered hand tightly. Choking back a sob, she cried, "Brother..."
Those familiar eyes met hers, nearly bringing her to tears.
Brother, this time, I won't let you go.
Notes:
1. Yun Yao was five and the male lead was fifteen when he took her in. There is no romance before she comes of age.
2. Yun Yao is a princess who will forcefully take what she wants.
3. An assassin who dotes on his sister, a princess who dotes on her brother. A sweet romance where both are devoted to each other.
4. He isn't disfigured over most of his face; he just has one extra scar.
Theme: A family that loves one another
