Half a Red Robe, Stained with Ruin

[Fully revised, with new plot foreshadowing and more romantic interactions. Thank you to all readers who support the official version~]

Female Lead's Perspective:

Once, Yin Su galloped across battlefields, sword in hand, shooting wolves. She never imagined she would be trapped in a house, or that her family would be destroyed overnight, leaving her dependent on others.

When she woke from midnight dreams, she saw mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, the horror of every bone in her body shattered, and the young lord in an exceptionally steady carriage, gripping her wrist while his face remained indistinct.

Even as she slowly remembered who he was, Yin Su had lost the will to live.

She reached out with trembling hands to touch the withered lotus. Then she went down with it. Cold water filled her nose, her clothes floated around her, and as her consciousness blurred, Yin Su wore a smile. At last, she would no longer see the clear distinction between day and night in the sky above.

Until Shen Que's face suddenly appeared in the vast, dark waters.

He pulled her back to life.

But just as Shen Que was about to speak, Yin Su clutched his hand and gasped for air.

She told him, one word at a time:

"Shen Que, I can feel hatred again."

Male Lead's Perspective:

Shen Que first met her in Bianzhou. At the time, he found her annoying and could hardly wait to get away from her.

Thirteen years later, Shen Que saw her again on his way to Youzhou. He rescued Yin Su from an unnamed river, covered in blood and consumed by the desire to die.

In the second year of Mingde, Shen Que met her for the third time.

By then, she had become the de facto ruler of Great Shu.

Across the vast snowfall, Yin Su's beauty was unchanged, and she had another lovely companion by her side.

If their parting had come without warning, so had their reunion. Shen Que was neither composed nor overjoyed. Not at all.

He was distracted. No one saw him clutching his clothes until they were crumpled, or the heart that seemed to have been tempered in fire, aching and riddled with holes.

In this chaotic era, people being hunted and eaten was commonplace. It happened everywhere: in palaces and marketplaces, and among the powerful with their well-armed forces.

But he had never imagined it could happen to Yin Su, too.

He felt no disappointment, only heartache.

He had thought that the thirteen years they had lost meant nothing. Only later did he see clearly what was in his own heart.

It was proud defiance.

It was the hope that she would remember him.

Reading Guide:

1. A map is available on Weibo. It may help to get a general idea of the locations first.

2. The setting is modeled on the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

3. One-on-one romance, both leads' first relationships, happy ending.

4. The female lead is emotionally low and volatile for the first few chapters, and at one point seeks death.

5. This is a short story. The plot isn't very complicated, but the necessary background will be explained clearly.

7. The title comes from Jiang Kui's "Cherishing the Red Dress: Lotus Flowers of Wuxing."

8. All later content will be released as bonus chapters, with a 100% subscription rate.

9. The complete novel costs six yuan. The whole work has been revised, with minor revisions to the leads' romance and major revisions to the parts leading up to the ending after Volume Three.

Theme: When the land is shattered, people seek refuge in mere survival