This is a story of an imperial consort seducing a powerful minister, a minister taking the emperor's wife, and false affections hiding a single thread of genuine feeling.
"Xun Yue of Yingchuan was peerlessly beautiful and possessed a talent that astonished the world, inspiring longing in the warlords of every faction. In the twentieth year of Jiande, the emperor abdicated, and Xiao Lin proclaimed himself emperor in Luoyang. As the realm fell into chaos and three kingdoms stood in opposition, he marched his army to Yingchuan and seized Xun Yue as his wife. Two years earlier, Xun Yue had offered her elder brother a plan that nearly got Xiao Lin killed.
In the fourth year of Yuanhe, Xun Yue gave birth to a son. After the Prince of Wei's initial delight, he nearly executed the counselor Huan Chi for reasons unknown."
The person Xun Yue hated most in her life was not Xiao Lin, but Huan Chi, who had once opposed him. In those days, each served a different lord. Though Xun Yue was a woman, her reputation for talent had earned her the esteem of her father and brothers. Then Huan Chi appeared out of nowhere, plunging her into the misery of a ruined family and a conquered state.
It was not until Xiao Lin imprisoned her in the Golden Terrace that she chanced to see the counselor, a man known for anticipating every move and adapting to circumstances, develop a desire to retire. Her resentment flared.
Why could Huan Chi leave, while she had to become a caged songbird?
On a snowy night in the depths of winter in the second year of Yuanhe, Huan Chi's words and manner were soft and gentle, embodying every bit of the word "seductive" just to win the attention and favor of the person before him.
"Why are you crying, Your Highness? I will make him pay for his blood debt."
Huan Chi's eyes flickered, his breath faint, as he stood barely a fist's breadth from Xun Yue. "When the time comes, if you want him imprisoned in the Golden Terrace, I will grant your wish. But from now on, there can only be me in your heart."
Reading notes:
The heroine is not a virgin; the two male leads are. Huan Chi takes the emperor's wife; Xiao Lin pursues his wife after losing her, but he won't win her back. The process is quite melodramatic.
Set in a fictional era inspired by the Three Kingdoms period.
Romance-focused, with a supporting plot.
Theme: Dare to resist
