[Amnesiac, gentle young princess x devoted, taciturn young lord]
In the fifth year of Jinghe, the Yunsheng Kingdom was suddenly besieged by enemy forces. War was imminent, and smoke rose on the horizon. One urgent letter after another was rushed to the capital, and Pei Chuyu, heir to the Marquis of Dingyuan, was appointed military strategist and sent north with the army.
He had been expected to accomplish great things from a young age, and he had never disappointed. People praised his astonishing talent and unmatched powers of reasoning, saying he was destined to become a great general or a high minister.
But life is unpredictable. An accident three years ago left him unable to walk, and he shut himself away at home.
Had the war not grown so urgent, with one imperial order after another, he might have spent the rest of his life confined to those few rooms.
The war lasted two years. At last, the army returned victorious, and the entire court rejoiced as an amnesty was declared throughout the land. Pei Chuyu, who should have received great honors, was struck in the chest by an arrow and fell into a coma.
At the same time, news came from Prince Zhao's residence that the young princess was to be engaged.
A month later, came the devastating news: the man had finally succumbed to his grave injuries...
*
Rong Luo Jin, the young princess of Prince Zhao's residence, had lived the same routine since childhood: reading, practicing calligraphy, learning etiquette, and finally accepting the marriage arranged by her family.
When she heard that Pei Chuyu had passed away, she merely sighed over the loss. She didn't even put down the scissors in her hand, which were trimming flower stems.
She never expected someone to suddenly barge into her room one day and demand in a low voice, "Do you know that he held on to the thing you gave him until the moment he died, while you never once showed your face? Are you really so heartless?"
Rong Luo Jin's face showed nothing but confusion. "But I barely knew him. How could I...?"
The visitor's eyes were unreadable as they told her a story, one far removed from the memories she had always known.
When the story was over, she turned around in a daze, tears streaming down her face.
It seemed... she had remembered some memories she had lost long ago.
*
Rong Luo Jin had always been proper and obedient, but before her wedding, she committed the most outrageous act of her life: she ran away from home to escape the marriage, vanishing without a trace.
She had heard that if a person's heart remained steadfast, even the gods and Buddhas would bow their heads and show mercy.
So she traveled across mountains and rivers, stopping to pray at every temple and beseeching every Buddha, all to atone for a wish in her heart. Even when her hands were worn raw, she knelt without rising.
Perhaps Heaven took pity on her. When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the day she first met Pei Chuyu.
*
Rong Luo Jin: "This time, I only wish for you to live in joy, free from worry, and safe and well."
Pei Chuyu: "I want you to know that I have never regretted a thing in my life."
Theme: The crane leaves the green mountains, never to see the peach blossoms again.
