After My Fiancé Ordered My Entire Family Put to Death

The day her father was framed and thrown into prison, Du Qinghe stood barefoot before the gates of the imperial city, clutching her petition for redress as snow fell all around her.

Frost fell in June, bearing witness to the injustice done to her entire family.

In the end, all she received was an imperial edict: "You know your guilt yet show no remorse. Your entire family is sentenced to death."

The one who issued it was the current emperor, who was also her betrothed.

Du Qinghe was the daughter of a family of military officials, loyal to the very end. Her parents and siblings had all given their lives for their country. She possessed a rare talent for communicating with spirits and had joined the Demon Extermination Bureau as its deputy director, purging the land of demonic energy and protecting peace throughout the realm.

When the current emperor was young, he had been betrothed to her. Later, he rose from prince to emperor, while she went from a commoner to a third-rank official. The two of them could no longer marry, but he still refused to dissolve their betrothal.

He had said that even if he never married in this life, he would take no one else. Even if she became his subject instead of his wife, he would protect her for the rest of her life.

She thanked him for his grace and from then on served him faithfully for ten years.

He was the ruler, and she was his subject. She would protect his realm and help him achieve greatness.

In the end, she realized it had all been political calculation: when the game was won, the hounds were killed.

Du Qinghe died in the twentieth year after she and he had become betrothed.

Her name was covered in accusations, and she had no way to clear it.

She never expected to live again, returning to the age of twenty.

In this life, she no longer wished to support her betrothed.

She ended their engagement.

She purged the demon nest in the officials' estate, clearing her family's name.

When a palace coup erupted, she drove her sword through her betrothed's abdomen and pinned him to the imperial throne, forcing him to watch the court descend into chaos.

Yet when the people of the realm called for his execution and a new emperor, she defied them all and protected his life.

He could not understand her. His bloodied hand clamped around her wrist as he snarled, "What is it you want?"

Du Qinghe pried his fingers loose one by one and lowered her gaze.

"I want peace and prosperity throughout the realm."

"And you are the piece that holds the formation in place."

She would use the emperor to command the feudal lords.

He became her pawn.

In the end, she truly did bring peace and prosperity to this chaotic age.

She became a shrine deity worshipped by countless people, and her name would endure forever.

Later, he wanted her to be his subject and his wife.

But she left Chang'an for good.

Even when he cast aside every last trace of pride, knelt, and pleaded, with blood and tears staining his clothes,

she never looked back.

[Set in an alternate Tang dynasty, with demon-hunting investigations]

[A female minister and an emperor, revenge and saving the world]

*Also known as "Peace and Prosperity"

Theme: Striving for a better tomorrow