Twinborn: Snow Kite

The Tan family of Bianjing had a pair of twin daughters. Because they were equally beautiful, they were known as the “Twin Qiaos of Bianjing.”

The elder sister, Tan Xueting, was promised to the Crown Prince. When he later ascended the throne, she became empress, crowned with the golden phoenix. The younger sister, Tan Xueyuan, fell in love with a merchant's son. Defying her family's objections, she married him and moved to Chaling, a thousand li from the capital. They thought that, even so far apart, the sisters would still have plenty of chances to see each other. But from the moment Tan Xueyuan arrived in Chaling, she vanished without a trace, like a drop of water lost in the sea.

As the years passed, the longing only grew. Unable to bear seeing his wife, whom he had married as a young man, so unhappy, the emperor issued an edict ordering Tan Xueyuan to return to the capital and visit her family. But no one could have imagined that the imperial decree would bring not the sweet, gentle young woman the Tan family had missed for years, but a brief letter announcing her death.

The crushing blow of their hopes being dashed and the terrible news arriving proved too much for the Tan matriarch, who passed away. Tan Xueting also lost heart and took to her sickbed. She ultimately failed to survive the end-of-year festivities and died in the imperial palace. On what should have been a day of lanterns and family reunion, the Tan family took down the red silk, and Bianjing was draped in mourning white.

When Tan Xueyuan opens her eyes again, time has turned back, giving her a chance to make different choices. But from the perspective of someone who knows the future, she surveys the whole story and discovers that some things and some people don't seem to be quite as she remembers them.