The blurb has been revised, but the central premise remains the same.
*
The night her true identity came to light, Suining lay against the Crown Prince, her imperial elder brother's knee, sobbing softly and begging to stay.
They had grown up relying on each other in the Cold Palace. It was her brother who gritted his teeth and carried her on his back, step by arduous step, until they climbed to a position above all others.
They depended on each other and cherished each other.
They were family, inseparable in anyone's eyes.
Yet the Crown Prince was a man of restraint, propriety, integrity, and high principles. He put the greater good first, never failing the emperor or the people.
On the eve of her departure from the palace, he merely stroked the top of her head gently and said it was all right. He would still treat her as his little sister.
Suining had no choice but to return to her ancestral family.
Later, when trouble beset her family, her aging parents did everything they could to arrange a marriage that would protect her for the rest of her life. But they could not settle on a suitable match right away.
As autumn deepened and the dew grew heavy, Suining suddenly recalled that elegant figure.
Now that they were no longer brother and sister,
how could becoming his wife not make her part of his family?
*
Suining got what she wished for.
Just as before, Xie Yun doted on her and protected her, sheltering her from every storm and giving her a place to call home.
Knowing she had claimed a place she had no right to, she waited until long afterward, when her family had regained its footing, and handed him a letter of separation. From then on, she would practice Buddhism as a laywoman and never marry again.
A carefree life sounded wonderful.
"Is that so?" Xie Yun lowered his eyes and gazed at her for a long moment.
He rubbed her slender wrist. His expression was detached and calm, but his words were not: "So, Ningning, from now on, do you want to keep carrying on like this with your brother in front of the Buddha?"
[Reading Notes ^^]:
1. One true pairing, happy ending. Sweet overall, though there will be some push and pull.
2. Fake siblings, no blood relation. They stop being siblings at the beginning, and the romance begins after their relationship changes.
3. The story is set in an entirely fictional world with many invented details. Please don't nitpick the historical accuracy.
4. Apart from the heroine, the hero will have no concubines, either in name or in reality, in the past, present, or future.
Theme: Growing together hand in hand
