[Down-on-his-luck gentleman offers himself to her vs. fiery little princess who collects beautiful men like souvenirs]
Wen Yiling is the most doted-on princess in Chaoge. She has always behaved outrageously and is especially fond of handsome faces. Her residence is filled with more pretty young men than she can count.
Then she sees a down-on-his-luck gentleman at the hunting grounds, and one glimpse is enough to make him unforgettable.
The young man's name is Shen Jibai. He is elegant and dignified, a peerless figure in white, but plagued by illness, panting after every few steps.
So she brings him back to her residence, waits on him with the finest food and clothes, dismisses all her other male companions for his sake, and searches everywhere for renowned physicians.
She often traces his nearly perfect features with her finger, her gaze full of affection, her tone cruel.
"Xiao Baibai, from now on, you're my personal attendant. You have to call yourself this servant, understand?"
Back then, the young man says nothing. His lowered lashes quiver slightly, and his fingers curl into a fist.
*
Then Wen Yiling has a dream. In it, rebels invade the capital. A great fire consumes the once-glorious dynasty, swallowing over a thousand palace attendants, including her. In a single day, the dynasty falls and a new one takes its place.
Later, it all comes true. But unlike in her dream, she doesn't wait to die. She makes preparations well in advance.
Still, she worries about Shen Jibai. He risks his life darting through the fires in one palace after another, searching for the young man still inside. But through a wall, she hears a familiar voice outside.
"Your Highness, that princess is still in the fire. Should we save her?"
"She's just a remnant of the previous dynasty. Let her die."
Wen Yiling's heart turns cold inch by inch, then shatters. The pain surges even more fiercely than the flames around her.
She turns and walks away from the fire, without looking back.
And so the princess once famed throughout the realm for her arrogance and brutality dies in a fire from heaven. She vanishes in smoke, leaving only bones behind.
*
Later generations tell how the new dynasty's emperor defied all opposition to make the former dynasty's princess his empress, posthumously honoring her as Empress Zhenyuan.
When Wen Yiling sees the proclamation announcing it to the realm, she only scoffs.
"A cat mourning a mouse, what fake compassion."
After cursing him, she turns to go home, feeling much better. But the instant she opens the door, she stops short.
The man in the proclamation is sitting in her little courtyard, his face drained of its former radiance, dark circles beneath his eyes.
"Your Highness, I've been searching everywhere for you..."
Reading guide:
○ One-on-one romance, both leads are each other's only partners.
○ An alternate dynasty, not the historical Chaoge. Original worldbuilding serves the story.
Theme: Love and beauty have existed through all ages, but every heart feels them in its own way.
