Ji Yan entered the Imperial Observatory at fifteen and took up the post of diviner, earning the emperor's deep trust.
It was said she could predict the weather and divine good and ill fortune. The common people regarded her as a divine official.
But she had been fated to die young, never living past twenty.
Ji Yan was open-minded by nature and never blamed fate. Whenever she had the chance, she invited her friends over for a meal in the name of getting them used to her eventual death.
A small gathering every three days, a grand one every five, and an outing to choose an auspicious burial site and celebrate every seven. She was delighted, while her friends were at their wits' end.
Ji Yan was as unabashed as a child demanding a present: "I know you're all worried, but don't be. I'm not going to live long, so what's wrong with indulging me?"
Her guard, Hu Po, trained in martial arts and kept in shape all year round. With a broad chest and a record of repeatedly pledging his loyalty, he was determined to follow her to the underworld and make his mark there. He swallowed the metallic taste of blood and bowed humbly. "You gave this servant his name, my lady. I will kill anyone for you. Please let me stay by your side, go through fire and climb mountains of blades, and continue to be the most useful sword at your beck and call."
Hu Po knew his station was low. He only wished he could become his mistress's husband openly and properly, staying by his wife's side in life and death. He hated his own base, rule-breaking desire to touch and covet his mistress, yet could not help humbly begging her to keep him near.
Ji Yan said, "It's so cold. So this is how cold it gets before you die."
The one time Hu Po dared to overstep without her permission, he held her cold body against his broad chest to warm her.
"I will follow you, my lady. I won't go on living without you."
"Don't be ridiculous."
The guard would never forget the moment Ji Yan sat beneath a plum tree in her cloak, smiling as she gave him his name.
"Your eyes are such a lovely color, like amber. I'll call you Hu Po."
From then on, the guard Hu Po took excellent care of his mistress while secretly longing for her. He changed himself to suit her tastes and quietly drove away the men who surrounded her. He was willing to shield Ji Yan from the wind and snow, and to become firewood for the trees that burned to keep her warm.
The male lead who cares for the sickly heroine is a humble, motherly guard with eight-pack abs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist.
Happy ending
(Screenshot dated 2025.04.18)
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