Born into an age of chaos, Princess Xiao E finds her life utterly suffocating.
Her elder brother seems possessed, doing everything he can to thwart her marriage. Xiao E grits her teeth in hatred. Once the closest of siblings, they gradually drift apart until they become mortal enemies.
Later, when the royal house falls, Xiao E is forced to give herself to the new ruler who seized the throne. She is also used as bait to lure out her elder brother, a man so cunning he is practically demonic, and have him killed.
When Xiao E hears of it, she can only sneer. Her brother has long since fled east of the Yangtze. He would have to be insane to take the bait.
And yet, her brother really does come.
Someone has severed his head. His ink-black hair clings to cheeks as cold as jade, his eyes shut tight, his head set upon a white jade platter.
In all the world... there really is such a fool.
So Xiao E, who fears pain, scalding heat, and death most of all, sets a great fire and perishes with her enemies.
When she opens her eyes again, she has returned to the age of sixteen.
As the adopted daughter of the late empress, her marriage has yet to be decided.
When her adoptive father smiles and asks whether she has anyone in mind, a mad idea swells in Xiao E's heart.
Her adoptive mother is dead, and the empress's throne is vacant. Rather than remain a princess at everyone else's mercy, why not take her place in the inner palace, wield the phoenix seal, and change her fate of dying with her kingdom?
**
But just before she gets her wish, on a damp, snowy night, her elder brother, who has been refined and upright throughout this life, bursts into her bedchamber with snow covering his shoulders. Without a word, he ignores her struggles, binds her hands and feet with his sash, and ties her to the bed.
His dark eyes stare fixedly at her, the veins on his neck throbbing.
"Cui Sanlang, Fang Erlang, Huo Qilang."
Xiao E's heart gives a sudden jolt.
All three were pawns she had toyed with in her previous life.
But how could her brother know?
His burning palm presses hard against her waist. Each word is forced through clenched teeth.
"Now you're even daring to set your sights on Father?"
**
Lately, Sima Heng has been plagued by strange dreams.
In them, he suffers endless humiliation and is eventually beheaded.
His younger sister, Xiao E, is brought up onto the city wall and made to watch him suffer his execution.
Sima Heng has never believed in ghosts or reincarnation. Yet the dreams are growing ever more vivid.
When he finally realizes what his younger sister is plotting, he calmly raises an army, enters the palace, and places their father under house arrest.
Once it is done, he walks through the snowy night alone to Xiao E's residence.
In his previous life, wherever his sister was, that was where he died.
In this life, if his sister remains stubborn and refuses to obey him...
He will take her with him when he dies.
**
1. This story features possessive, coercive romance and some forced situations. Readers who are uncomfortable with that should proceed with caution.
2. The setting is fictional, with some inspiration from the late Han and Wei-Jin periods. There are many original elements, and the story focuses primarily on romance. Please don't nitpick the history~
3. The heroine is not a perfect character. She was married in her previous life, has a peculiar way of thinking, and has few golden fingers after being reborn. She is a pampered, easily weeping girl who thinks she's very calculating, a peerless beauty, and a Mary Sue adored by everyone. She sometimes plays dirty. Readers with high standards for the heroine's character should proceed with caution.
4. The male lead is a virgin in both lives. Apart from the male lead's father, who is not, all the other male characters are virgins. The brother and sister are the most important people in each other's lives, and their bond is the deepest, though misunderstandings arise from a twist of fate.
[Seven-year age gap. The heroine is the late empress's adopted daughter and grew up with the male lead, but they are not related by blood and have different surnames. Their romance begins after their sibling relationship ends, so there is no inappropriate content.]
Theme: A good attitude determines a woman's life.
