The Returnee from the North

In times of chaos, the loyal are slaughtered; in times of peace, a woman's virtue is destroyed. In the final years of the Great Wei, the court was rotten and the emperor incompetent, while treacherous ministers seized power. Baseless suspicions and secret plots led to one shocking miscarriage of justice after another. Shangguan Yao, the legitimate daughter of the Shangguan family, traveled far to the borderlands to find her husband. Yan Linghuai, the legitimate son of a military family, was stationed in the northern frontier. In the depths of winter, with bitter winds and snow gnawing at the bones, supplies ran out and the border troops suffered from hunger and cold. In a letter home, Shangguan Yao asked her father to gather provisions and request reinforcements for the front, hoping to steady the troops' morale. But a treacherous minister's slander swayed the emperor, who refused to send troops or supplies to the frontier. Shangguan Yao's father, Shangguan Jian, put up his life's savings and the only home he owned to raise supplies for the soldiers guarding the border. Shangguan Yao had no idea that her letter would bring disaster upon her entire family. A treacherous minister accused Shangguan Jian of secretly gathering provisions, defying the court, and betraying the emperor. Enraged, the emperor ordered the slaughter of the entire loyal family. After peace was restored in the northern frontier, Yan Linghuai returned to the capital with Shangguan Yao. The Shangguan family's glory came to an end, and blood stained the capital. Yan Linghuai's military achievements shook the court. Fearing that his power might eclipse the throne and suspecting him of rebellion, the incompetent emperor appointed him Martial Laureate in a year without examinations and arranged for him to marry Princess Gong Wanning, hoping to secure control of the military and stabilize the court. Yan Linghuai and Shangguan Yao had grown up together. He boldly defied the imperial decree and stayed true to his heart. But the emperor was ruthless, convinced Yan Linghuai was plotting rebellion, and once again ordered the Yan family slaughtered to the last member. Bearing the agony of both families' destruction, Yan Linghuai wanted to raise an army, storm the palace, and bathe the court in blood. Shangguan Yao endured her grief and tearfully stopped him from acting rashly. Haunted by nightmares night after night, the emperor's suspicions consumed him. His paranoia took a devastating toll, and he died prematurely. A new emperor ascended the throne, and the wrongful convictions were overturned. But rumors arose again in the inner palace, and her virtue was once more called into question.