Synopsis:
Liao Mingyue was raised from childhood to be a beautiful courtesan, taught nothing but shameless ways to serve others. At last, unable to endure the beatings, she escaped and hid for three years in a remote village.
That night, a violent storm unleashed a flood, and she met a destitute young man just like herself.
Young Jiang Mubai had been framed by a villain. He was blind, lame, and covered in spots from a slow-acting poison. The villagers thought he had caught a plague and wanted to burn him alive, but Liao Mingyue rescued him.
She pitied his loneliness and his disability, and admired how, despite having nothing, he still cared about the people of the world. He planned to repair waterways, cure epidemics, and benefit the nation and its people. She loved listening to him recite lines from books and talk about his grand ambitions.
They supported each other, and affection blossomed between them.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, his sight returned. He dreamed of lighting a thousand river lanterns and promising her the grand wedding she wished for.
But that very night, she disappeared.
**
They met again in the Eastern Palace.
The young Jiang Mubai had been the Crown Prince. Now he had returned in a disheveled state, drenched the former court in blood, and reclaimed his power.
The Imperial Medical Academy's heavy doses of medicine cured many of his injuries and illnesses, but damaged his memory as well. He forgot his time in that remote village, though fragments flooded his mind in the dead of night, leaving him tormented by endless nightmares.
But she had been captured and brought back.
Still under the guise of a beautiful courtesan, she was presented to the Crown Prince.
Everything proceeded discreetly according to her clan's plan. But when the Crown Prince saw her eyes, at once resentful and coquettish, they suddenly overlapped with fragments in his memory.
"Be a good substitute. I won't mistreat you."
That was the first thing he said when they reunited.
She knelt on the ground, looking up at the Crown Prince, now an elegant and noble figure. The words "Brother Mubai" were forced down her throat, replaced with a respectful kowtow and a formal address.
"Yes, Your Highness."
**
Countless eyes were fixed on the position of Crown Princess, yet the woman the Crown Prince favored most was a beautiful courtesan who had been presented to him.
The many women vying for the position of Crown Princess used every means to ostracize, torment, and abuse her.
Unable to bear the humiliation, she finally decided to flee.
But at that very moment, the Crown Prince's true memories returned.
But...
It was too late.
Her heart was dead. No matter how desperately the Crown Prince begged, she refused to turn back.
Reader's guide:
The Crown Prince's redemption arc
White-moonlight substitute trope
Classic melodrama, angst first, love later
One couple, happy ending
Theme: Finding a ray of light in the darkness
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