My Heart Is Deeply Longing

A practice piece with many flaws. Enter at your own risk.

The Prime Minister's residence framed the entire Marquis of Shun'an's family, and they were all executed. The Empress Dowager spared their only daughter, Ji Yao, but after she was made a slave, she fled one night and was killed by a villain.

People didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. They had no idea that the woman standing before them was unmistakably Ji Yao, whose appearance had not changed at all, save for the phoenix-feather mark between her brows that hadn't been there before.

Even Ji Yao herself found it absurd. That night, an immortal had given her guidance, pricked her brow with blood, and placed a yellow talisman on her. The mark had appeared without a sound, leaving everyone unable to recognize her. They knew her only as A Tan, a maid in the Prime Minister's residence...

She entered the Prime Minister's residence openly, plotting to kill Prime Minister Xue and avenge the Ji family.

But she was assigned to serve Xue Cinian, the spirited young man who had once shared a bowl of wine with her in the snow and called her by her childhood name.

_

After the entire Marquis of Shun'an's family was imprisoned, Xue Cinian knelt in the rain all night.

As dawn neared, his father sent someone to ask him why.

Why? He struggled to raise his eyes through the sheets of rain, looking toward the figure inside the window, a man who wielded great power.

Perhaps it was the bowl of sweet wine that had warmed his heart in the deep winter snow, or the distinctive New Year's greeting written on the gilded red strip. Or perhaps it was the night when the Milky Way sailed above, and fireflies shimmered in the mountains and rivers, as she looked at him with earnest, gentle resolve and said, "Xue Cinian, you're truly wonderful."

He bent down until his forehead touched the ground, blood staining the stone steps. Without giving a reason, he said, "Please, Father."

No one answered him.

Only after he collapsed in the rain, exhausted, did his father stop beside him. Looking down at him from above, he said, "If you can earn the Emperor's favor, why beg me?"

Later, just as his father had said, his network of influence was firmly established, and his official career was about to take off.

He went to Silver Lake once more.

The night was deep and still, with slanting wind and fine rain. The once carefree young man, surrounded by admirers and the center of everyone's attention, now looked forlorn. He sat alone beneath the boat, damp mist and rain against his face, and gazed at the darkness and silence all around him. Softly, he said, "But Ji Yao, there's no light tonight."

_

He would make her famous and climb the highest mountains for her.

-

Reader's Guide:

1. One-on-one romance, both leads are virgins, happy ending.

2. The setting is very loosely constructed, with many original elements. Everything in the plot serves the romance between the leads.

3. The mark between the heroine's brows is entirely made up. You can think of it as her golden finger.

4. There's more to the massacre than meets the eye. The leads have no fundamental conflict of principles.

5. The romantic storyline begins after the leads turn fifteen.

Blurb written on 2023-07-15, screenshot saved.

Theme: A moment of clarity, then honesty with oneself.