Xiao Lingfan was a princess sent to marry for peace, a bonus gift offered by the Mu Kingdom as it sought to buy time and end the war by ceding territory and paying reparations. She was an insult to the royal family of Mu from the Northern Kingdom of Beiming.
She married Beiming Jin, the enemy nation's fifth prince, a deeply unloved royal who had grown up in the cold palace because his mother had been lowborn.
On the surface, they were husband and wife. In truth, they were allies. He promised that if she helped him take the throne, he would set her free.
Xiao Lingfan believed him. She joined him in keeping a low profile and biding her time. For three years, they weathered several brushes with death together, and in the end, she watched him climb step by step to the pinnacle of power.
Just as she thought she could finally escape the palace and find a place of her own, Beiming Jin ordered that she be made a noble consort and kept under house arrest by his side.
Xiao Lingfan hated him for breaking his promise. She caused trouble in his harem, hoping only that he would honor his word and let her leave the palace. Yet he continued to indulge her, breaking one rule after another for her sake.
She remained unmoved and only grew more outrageous. At last, Beiming Jin could no longer withstand the pressure from his ministers and punished her, but in the end, all he did was confine her to the palace.
One night, after she had put out the lamps, the emperor, who was busy with affairs of state day and night, burst into her chambers and pinned her against the bed. He demanded, "How long are you going to keep this up?"
Xiao Lingfan endured it all with indifference, her voice numb. "I will stop as soon as Your Majesty is willing to let me go."
At that, Beiming Jin looked at her with bloodshot eyes. He gripped her chin and said harshly, "After all these years, is that person still in your heart? You want to leave me and go look for him? That will never happen!"
Beiming Jin resented her for refusing to know her place. He demoted her to the royal temple and ordered her to remain by the Buddha lamps, praying for the people of Beiming.
In the third year of Xiao Lingfan's vegetarian meals and prayers, she heard that Beiming's iron cavalry had invaded Mu territory, that the head of Mu's emperor was hanging above the city gates, and that the commander-in-chief's whereabouts were unknown.
Her heart died and her light went out. She faked her death and escaped Beiming.
In the fifth year after her kingdom fell, the small country where she lived submitted to Beiming. Beiming sent people to govern it, and when the leading general saw her, he cried out, "Your Highness, the Noble Consort!"
She was brought before Beiming Jin. After years of war, he had grown much more weathered. When he saw her, he held her coldly in his arms, though his voice was tender to the extreme.
"Where have you been all these years?"
Theme: I am the master of my own heart
