Hiding the Moon

She was the most vibrant splash of color in the imperial palace, carrying a heedless vitality wherever she went.

He was the youngest general ever appointed to guard the northern borders of Great Liang, stern and restrained, deep and calculating, accustomed to assuming the worst of everyone.

At a palace banquet, a chance encounter left Shen Zhaoning curious about the general rumored to “chop off heads like slicing melons.” She wondered why he was so handsome, and even more, why he always stepped back whenever he saw her.

She kept edging closer, wide-eyed and innocent, while he retreated with painstaking restraint. She thought he was simply cold by nature, never realizing that each step he took away from her was the last restraint he had over himself.

Until one day, someone touched the light he had hidden deep in his heart