[Mutual pining / Childhood friends / Married couple of high-IQ top students]
[Cool, calculating female court historian x proud, sharp-tongued special investigator]
Xijing is prosperous, its jade steps cold as ice. A strange painting brings old grudges from the previous dynasty to light. The Great Jin has only just been founded, and forces on all sides stir beneath the surface. Behind the appearance of peace and prosperity, power is being contested on every side.
The past haunts them like a ghost, and blood-soaked secrets close in step by step. The mist and rain in the painting gradually take on the stench of violence in the real world.
Li Yu'an is ordered to investigate the truth behind "Misty Rain over Xijing". Mo Jingchun is drawn into the mystery by chance. When he raises a lamp and sees the final stroke she has added, he says, “Mo Jingchun, do you know what "Misty Rain over Xijing" is...”
“It’s evidence.” She uses her brush like a blade to cut through the lies. “Did the prince save me in the painting pavilion back then so I could clear her name today?”
Her skillful brush restores more than the colors of an old painting. It also reveals truths power has painted over.
And the palette knife he hands her is meant both to scrape away the false colors on the canvas and to cut the scars from their hearts.
From the wonder of meeting inside a painting to standing together amid the struggles of the court, he is the towering mountain sheltering her in a storm, and she is the gentle candle lighting his heart of stone. Their feelings quietly grow as they solve mysteries and protect one another, and their love grows ever stronger through the trials of power and personal growth.
“Your Highness, how is this ‘Crimson Tear Sand’ prepared?”
“I’m listening.”
“It takes blood from the heart as its catalyst, and tears of longing as its medium.”
“...”
“Just like the red rain falling in Your Highness’s eyes right now.”
When the truth hidden deep beneath the ink finally comes to light, they must face not only the remnants of the previous dynasty, but the choices of their own lives. Will they sink into old dreams and grudges, or join hands to paint a new chapter? An old painting reveals a secret that could topple a nation, as well as a heart-stirring ordeal of love and growth.
A sweet little story, plot-driven, no content warnings, updated daily. Enjoy!
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Theme: Why strive for perfection? A little more than enough is enough
