[Forcible love and a groveling pursuit after the breakup]
By the time Ming Liu was sixteen, she was roaming the martial world with a few half-baked martial arts skills.
She didn't have any grand ambitions. She wanted to find a handsome young man who was gentle, considerate, and skilled in martial arts, then settle down with a husband and children in a warm home.
After searching high and low, she picked up a man of celestial beauty by the roadside. When he woke, she tried to lure him in: "I'm a young lady of the wealthy Ming family. Come with me, and you'll never have to suffer again."
The young man smiled faintly without committing. Three months later, when soldiers came to the door, Ming Liu finally learned that the man before her was the third son of Prince Zhao.
He was as graceful as a jade tree, and as he bowed, he carried all the bearing of a noble prince, with a countenance as radiant as jade.
"I am Xie Yanzhao. I will never forget your kindness, Miss."
*
Xie Yanzhao moved into the Ming household and joined its head in plotting a great undertaking.
His looks were simply too tempting. Ming Liu would drop a hairpin one day and a handkerchief the next. Xie Yanzhao would only watch, occasionally giving her a faint smile.
It was only after she fell into the water at a banquet and was ambushed while changing clothes that things changed. In her dazed state, she slipped into a sensual dream. When she woke, the face she had longed to see was right before her.
In the midst of chaos, they hurriedly exchanged wedding vows.
The following year, Prince Zhao raised the banner of rebellion.
Before Xie Yanzhao left, he solemnly promised that once he had informed his father, he would formally take her as his wife.
Ming Liu waited for five years.
Prince Zhao ascended the throne, but Xie Yanzhao did not return.
The emperor died, and the third prince took the throne, changing the era name to Qisheng. Rumors spread among the people that the new emperor planned to make his cousin his empress.
Ming Liu sighed softly as she looked at her adorable, snow-white daughter and said, "From now on, if anyone asks, just tell them your father is dead."
She considered herself a widow and began looking for a handsome man. Through her aunt's matchmaking, she met someone who seemed like a perfect match.
On her wedding night, Ming Liu sat upright on the bed when she suddenly heard piercing screams and cries.
The familiar, heavy stench of blood filled her nose. Someone lifted the red silk curtain with the tip of a sword.
"My lady, I have come to congratulate you on your wedding."
*
In the third year of Qisheng, petitions demanding the execution of the demon consort flew like snowflakes into the Hall of Shiqian.
When Ming Liu drank the poisoned wine, she thought she could finally be free. But when she awoke, she found herself trapped in a nightmare.
She was certain Xie Yanzhao had gone mad, and not a little.
The emperor wore the clothes of the third young master Xie from years ago, though a faint scent of imperial incense lingered on them. He held her tightly around the waist and spoke softly, as if they were still newlyweds.
"Have you forgotten? We swore before the hall that we would never part, in this life or the next."
Theme: Honest communication
