Locked in Love

In the third year of the Jingqi era of the Ning Dynasty, beneath the tranquil waters of Fuhai lies a secret kingdom of merfolk. Princess Mu Yu is gentle and kind, and for a hundred years she and her people have lived peacefully there. That peace ends when a Ning Dynasty fleet enters their waters under the pretext of driving out Japanese pirates. At its head is none other than the powerful and battle-hardened Prince of Lindong, Guan Cheng, a woman who holds sway over the entire court.

At first sight of the fleet, Mu Yu dives into the deep to warn her people, but she cannot shake the elders’ determination to stand their ground. To protect her people, she stakes everything, climbing aboard the enemy ship under the guise of seeking peace while secretly bent on killing. When Guan Cheng suddenly looses a fierce arrow at her, Mu Yu does not so much as flinch. Her unusual poise unexpectedly piques the interest of the prince, famed for her ruthless decisiveness.

On a whim, Guan Cheng spares her, temporarily granting the merfolk immunity on the condition that Mu Yu “stay.”

Mu Yu is thus forced to make her home beside a tiger and wolf, imprisoned in the palace’s gilded cage. But the court is rife with schemes and intrigue, and living alongside the ruler is like keeping company with a tiger, especially one like Guan Cheng, who has lived by the sword and whose thoughts are impossible to read.

As the two spend their days and nights together, their utterly different souls gradually draw closer amid treacherous power struggles and sea mist.

Yet neither court nor martial world ever knows peace. Hidden attacks are hard to guard against, and people’s hearts are difficult to fathom. When trust becomes a luxury, and every greeting might be interpreted as a plot, can their bond become a source of salvation amid deeper schemes and undercurrents, or will they both sink into endless, turbulent waters?