He Saved Only His First Love from Drowning? After Their Divorce, She Entered the Palace and Became Empress

[The ex’s regretful pursuit + the second male lead rises to the top + stand-in for the first love] Ji Tang was a captive from a fallen kingdom. Jiang Heng bought her from a group of slaves, and she devoted herself to treating him well, believing he was her light. Until someone pushed her into an icy lake. Jiang Heng never looked at her once, instead turning away with another woman in his arms. Ji Tang’s heart finally died. She drank a bowl of contraceptive medicine, wrote a letter asking to be dismissed as his wife, and cut all ties with him. After their divorce, everyone waited to see her become a laughingstock. But the powerful king personally took her hand and led her into the busiest market in the city. The king said, “I was a slave too. Who says a slave can’t rise to the highest position in the land?” He tucked flowers into her hair and rolled up her sleeves to grind ink for her. When she caught even the slightest chill, he rushed back from court in the middle of the night, eyes red as he berated the physicians for their incompetence. No one had ever treasured her like this. Later, her ex-husband Jiang Heng knelt outside the palace for three days and nights, begging to see her one more time. Ji Tang leaned against the king, without even opening the window. The king lowered his head and kissed the crown of her hair, smiling as he said, “Ignore him. The wind is strong out there. It would only dirty your ears.”