*
On the night of the fourth day of the twelfth month in the sixth year of Jinghe, a fire broke out at Taiji Palace. The Jia Archive, which held official records, burned to the ground. Lin Zheng, an assistant director in the Ministry of Personnel, was imprisoned as a result and hanged himself that night. History calls it the "Jia Archive Case." The Dali Temple records state, "Lin Zheng took his own life out of guilt, and all the women of the Lin family were sent to the inner palace."
Resolved to die, she was being escorted to Zhangtai Hall when she used a hairpin to stab to death a jailer who tried to molest and humiliate her. As a result, she was thrown into the death prison.
What does it matter if I live?
What is there to fear in death?
With a heart that longed to live, she prayed for death. Instead, he came.
Lin Xian would never forget that night. She was kneeling on cold, bloodstained bricks when a long, jade-like hand reached out to her.
"Lin Xian, do you dare wager your life on a gamble with me?"
"What does someone already dead have to fear?"
*
While investigating the cause of the fire at Taiji Palace, Su Zhizhi, Assistant Minister of the Dali Temple, unexpectedly discovered that the case was connected to the "Lingyan Case" from ten years earlier. He hurried to the prison that night, hoping to question Lin Zheng for clues.
He saved her from the blade's edge, then made her a pawn in his investigation of the old case, helping her enter Chongwen Hall and securing her a position in the Secretariat.
He watched her sink deeper into the treacherous political struggles. He thought he wouldn't fall for her, but in reality, whenever she was close to death, he kept stepping in to save her, until he nearly got dragged down with her.
In the spring of the tenth year of Jinghe, he went to the execution grounds to see her off.
She lifted her face to the sunlight and smiled brightly.
"Do you regret it?"
"I have regrets, but no remorse."
1. Happy ending, absolutely.
2. There is a morally ambiguous second male lead.
3. Please add it to your collection! The more collections, the sooner I'll start posting!
Blurb written at midnight on November 18, 2024.
Theme: Seek life in the face of death, and let the bright dawn shine.
