No Way Back to Chang'an

In the seventeenth year of the Kaihuang era, snow fell over Jinyang. Li Shimin, still swaddled in his cradle, grasped the hand his elder brother held out to him.

Together, they raised the banner in Jinyang, conquered Xihe, crossed the Yellow River, and marched side by side through the gates of Daxing. One guarded the court, secured the people's livelihood, and became the rightful heir to the throne. The other campaigned on the front lines, crushed formidable foes, and won military glory that shook the realm. Zheng Guanyin stood quietly by a lamp in the Eastern Palace, while Changsun concealed the surging schemes of the Qin Prince's household. These two young couples watched from opposite sides of the palace walls as the once-wide path between the brothers was gradually crushed by suspicion, advisers, and the struggle for power.

Yang Wengan's secret letter, poisoned wine at a family banquet, a startled horse at the hunting grounds, and a deadly trap at Kunming Lake: every attempt at reconciliation was repeatedly cut off by those on both sides who wanted war. Arrows came flying at Xuanwu Gate. Once the dust settled, the realm belonged to Li Shimin, and the flourishing age of Zhenguan gradually unfolded. But from then on, nightmares took up permanent residence in the long nights of the emperor. Zheng Guanyin lived in seclusion deep within the palace, keeping a book of poems with reeds from the Ming River pressed inside. Through the long years, she watched old friends pass away, saw history rewrite the past, and witnessed the cycle of succession in the Li family repeat again and again.

The title of Prince Xi was belated dignity; a shared tomb became the final resting place after a lifetime of entrapment. Achievements, histories, and legends passed down through the generations could never erase the blood that flowed beneath the palace gates. Chang'an's splendor endured from one generation to the next, but from that first heavy snowfall in Jinyang onward, some people would never find their way home.

This is a tragic tale of the early Tang, told through the alternating perspectives of Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin. It tells of brothers united in heart who came to turn against one another, of two women silently suffering within a situation they could not escape, and of the scars that lingered for a century after the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Beneath the glory of a flourishing age lie sins and wounds that can never be healed.