In her previous life, Song Zhiluan was the most notorious imperial princess in Jing.
To force the young Marquis of the Xie family to marry her, she dismissed her entertainers and spent days in intimate closeness with him in her bedchamber, ultimately obtaining an imperial decree.
On the day she married into the Xie family, Song Zhiluan hid her face behind a round fan, secretly gazing at her dashing beloved, her heart full of longing.
Even through years of coldness, she thought of making it up to him properly. With her proud and noble bones, she was willing to wash her hands and prepare soup for him.
Over ten years, there were moments of mutual support and desperate intimacy. Song Zhiluan believed he must have some affection for her.
But on the day Xie Yujin seized power, his first order was to place her under house arrest.
As the palace gates slowly closed, Xie Yujin stood in the snow and said to her:
“Never to meet again in this lifetime.”
–
When the emperor’s younger sister suddenly passed away, everyone speculated it was the doing of Chancellor Xie.
Xie Yujin originally thought he hated Song Zhiluan.
But on the night of her death, he personally arranged her appearance and collected her bones, sitting vigil through the night until he died of heart palpitations.
When he opened his eyes, he had returned to the year when Song Zhiluan forced him into marriage.
He began deliberately appearing before Song Zhiluan, wearing his hair tied up in a crown and dressed in her favorite clothes.
He expected Song Zhiluan would dismiss her entertainers again for him, plead for an imperial decree before the hall, and treat him with the same tenderness and delicacy as in their previous life.
Instead, he was repeatedly ignored.
He watched helplessly as she showed concern and care for other men.
At a palace banquet, after exhausting all his schemes, he finally earned a direct glance from her.
“I’ve heard the second son of the Xie family is peerlessly handsome, with celestial grace. Which one might he be?”
Some feared Song Zhiluan had taken an interest and might try to force the issue.
Xie Yujin’s hand holding the teacup unconsciously tightened, his spine stiffening.
Until Song Zhiluan gave a light laugh.
“Nothing special.”
“Don’t be jealous,” she said, turning to the handsome young man beside her with a smile. “You’re my favorite, alright?”
