Feng Linyun spent ten years as a hostage in the state of Jin. After returning to Yan, she launched a coup, repaid her upbringing with betrayal, and bathed the dynasty in blood, becoming the cold-blooded new emperor whose name shook the Nine Provinces.
Rumors among the people claimed that the former Yan emperor had sent the still-young Feng Linyun to the Empire as a hostage ten years ago because he had already seen that she was impossible to raise into a loyal subject. He simply hadn't expected Feng Linyun to be so tough, and to return home unharmed.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, she sent envoys to the nations of the Nine Provinces with gifts to celebrate. It was said that when the Crown Prince of Jin, Mu Qianxing, received the news, she didn't even glance at the ten thousand taels' worth of gifts. She merely tossed the Yan emperor's letter back into the envoy's arms and said:
"Tell your new emperor to come see me herself."
Rumor had it that while Feng Linyun was a hostage in Jin, she had plotted the death of the Crown Prince of Jin at the time, Mu Qianxing's biological elder sister, before fleeing back to her own country. That was how the two of them became bitter enemies.
Not long after, a secret message from the Yan palace was delivered by carrier pigeon to Mu Qianxing. She opened it. The letter contained just one line in elegant, aloof handwriting:
If the new crown prince wants to see me, why not pay Yan a visit in person?
-
The following month, the Crown Prince of Great Jin, Mu Qianxing, led an envoy to visit Yan, and returned the gifts Yan had previously sent, untouched.
She returned the gifts in front of the entire court. Everyone knew this was a grave humiliation, a slap in Feng Linyun's face. Even Feng Linyun, seated high on the throne, looked furious.
Mu Qianxing looked up at her and smiled. "You said you wanted me to forgive you. Fine. Accept the gifts I returned in front of all the court officials, and then I'll believe your apology."
As the assembled officials knelt and cried, "Your Majesty, you mustn't!" Feng Linyun agreed.
That night, Mu Qianxing sneaked into the Yan emperor's bedchamber.
"Didn't Your Majesty say you wanted me to visit Yan in person?"
Feng Linyun glanced at the saber at her waist, her expression turning stern. "A Xing, even you think I'm a wolf that can never be tamed? I dismissed the imperial guards so you could visit, not draw your blade."
Mu Qianxing chuckled. "I don't need to get my hands dirty. Want to guess where in this palace I planted poison today?"
Feng Linyun was shaken.
"The blade or the poison. Choose one."
Feng Linyun raised her eyes and reached out to straighten Mu Qianxing's lapel, her gaze ambiguous and dark.
"What if I choose neither?"
An alternate history setting, not modeled on any particular dynasty
Both leads are reborn. They fall in love in the first half of their previous life and turn against each other in the second half. In this life, they love and fight each other. 1v1, happy ending.
Mu Qianxing's sister was not killed by Feng Linyun.
The blurb may be revised.
Theme: Dare to seek the truth
