In her previous life, Song Yuan'an died a tragic death after being sent away to marry for political reasons. Reborn, she purged corrupt officials, drove back foreign invaders, and became the Grand Princess Who Protected the Nation.
Everyone said Princess Zhaoning was a goddess descended from heaven, able to foresee calamities and uncover the secrets of fate, capable of anything. Only Song Yuan'an knew of the unfinished business and helplessness buried deep in her heart.
Fu Huai.
At a palace banquet, Song Yuan'an met a merchant's son and knocked over a crystal cup. His face was identical to that of the young general from her previous life. She had finally found him!
But when he used his folding fan to lift the golden bells at the hem of her skirt, she gazed into those peach-blossom eyes, full of affection and eager flattery, and felt only an empty snowfall in her heart.
In her previous life, she had known nothing of the world. Now, she had seen all the sinister tricks and power struggles of the court. Only Cangwu was different.
He was always there after the ministers had left, silently gathering the mountain of complicated memorials on her desk. When she petulantly said she wanted to marry a merchant's son, his wrist trembled around the cinnabar brush, and ink seeped through the paper. "Whether or not he is suitable for marriage, his character, his learning, and three generations of his family records: I will investigate them at once."
On the eve of her wedding, Song Yuan'an sat lost in thought beside the goddess statue. Cangwu entered carrying her wedding dress. The candlelight cast his shadow across the blue bricks, where it overlapped with the figure of the young general practicing swordplay on the training grounds in her previous life.
"Cangwu, why have you never tried to dissuade me?"
He lowered his eyes and smoothed the twin lotus flowers embroidered in gold thread. "Whatever the princess desires, I will place before her."
As the wedding candles burned high, the groom's fingertips brushed the floral ornament on her forehead. Song Yuan'an suddenly shuddered. His hands were too soft, unlike the rough palms that had gripped a spear in her previous life.
"Cangwu!" She rushed out of the bridal chamber and grabbed the hand he was trying to pull back.
His lashes trembled violently. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed all his emotions. "Does the new groom meet with Your Highness's approval?"
"The way you hold a sword, the habit of tapping the table three times when pouring tea..." She tugged open the lapel of his black robe. "The merchant's son likes Longjing tea, but in both this life and the last, you drank only the cold tea I left behind."
The palace lanterns suddenly went out, and at last, Cangwu broke down in her tears.
Memories of his previous life surged into his mind with the night wind. After being reborn, he had spent three years in a daze, until the princess pointed at the merchant's son and said, "He looks like him." Only then did he realize he had become mist beside the bright moon.
Her wedding gown trailed over the shards of porcelain scattered across the floor. Song Yuan'an pressed her forehead against his trembling palm.
The goddess statue gazed down compassionately amid the ruins. It turned out that these two fools in love had each mistaken the other's appearance and become trapped in hopeless waiting, unaware that their true souls had long been imprinted on each other through the countless days and nights they had shared.
Theme: You don't get only one chance. Treasure every one.
