The Great Jing realm is in turmoil, and storms rage endlessly at court.
The Su family's pure cups embody a lifetime of integrity; the northern frontier's Rong Zhaoye has spent half his life in blood and battle.
Su Zhanqiu is a proud, moonlike woman raised among the bookish families of Jiangnan. Caught in the rise and fall of the great clans, she treads carefully at every step, protecting her family's peace and keeping her heart pure.
Rong Zhaoye is a blade forged in the smoke of battle, a pillar of the realm. His achievements threaten the throne, his power looms over the court. He is a weapon the emperor fears and a general whom all dread.
One breathtaking glimpse in their youth, and love took root in secret.
When they meet again, they stand on opposite sides as sovereign and subject, divided by their birth. Power plays weave a net, and fate becomes a cage.
He commands armies across the realm and can protect the land, yet he does not dare openly protect her.
She carries a heart full of love and can endure every hardship, yet she cannot bear the longing between them, though they are only inches apart.
The court's frame-ups pile up, and the imperial power never stops driving them apart. Love is hidden in restraint, and their deep feelings go no further than their lips.
The flames of chaos consume the land, and with it the helplessness of half a lifetime.
Autumn falls upon the world, and Zhaoye returns to the wilderness.
When the smoke clears and the dust settles,
he sheds the burden of his merits and sins, and she casts off her chains.
From then on, there are no rulers or subjects between them, and all the beauty of the world is yours alone.
