Chronicles of the Xuandu Manuscripts: Ancient Times
A tale of the fateful ties and aftermath from a thousand years ago.
Li Wu, Prince of Jiang, was originally named Liao. He began cultivating the Dao as a boy, and when his master, Perfected Guangning, read his fortune, he renamed him Wu. At sixteen, an imperial edict summoned him to the capital, awakening all the things he was unwilling to accept, unwilling to do, and unable to let go of. In the end, his Daoist heart came to naught.
On New Year's Eve, he unexpectedly met Linghu Xi, a government matchmaker, in the rear garden of his prince's residence. From then on, he struggled and hesitated, rising and falling time and again, losing himself amid the court he could not control and feelings as fleeting as flowers reflected in water.
Who could have known it was all like dreaming of a deer beneath a banana tree, with gains and losses as unpredictable as the Dao?
If he could live through it all again, would he choose to stand above all others, govern as regent, and come within one step of the throne?
Or would he choose a waterside pavilion among the flowers, composing poems and verses, and spending his life by A Xi's side, never again concerning himself with matters of state?
They once had a chance to understand and pledge themselves to each other. Sadly, after making choice after fateful choice, they finally missed each other.
Theme: A person can lose their sharpness over a lifetime
