Allure Beyond the East Wall

Zi Ran had plotted and schemed her way to the chessboard at last, where she could at least preserve her life for a while.

Wei Rong had received his chess piece, and now cherished it, patiently waiting and lavishing it with tenderness.

Zi Ran knew it was a conspiracy. She had known from the start. All that tenderness was part of the scheme. Yet she still hadn’t guessed the beginning correctly. This wasn’t a conspiracy, but a net, and everything was for the sake of the realm.

The chessboard trembled... Zi Ran thought, if only she couldn’t guess the ending...

Skin like white jade, bones delicate and fine. The spring breeze stirred, and peach and pear blossoms fluttered, mingling with the fragrance of a lovely woman.

Wei Rong gazed at the peach and pear blossoms filling his view. Smiling softly, he asked, “Have the woods begun to bloom with snow?”

“I hear Emperor Rui, Wei Rong, keeps deposing and reinstating his empresses, yet loves one woman above all.”

“Who is she?”

“Who knows? Perhaps she was only ever a chess piece.”