In the eyes of the court, the Third Prince Gu Zhou was a dangerous, vindictive man, unfit for kindness. Yet when Su Qingwan saw him in the Cold Palace, battered and bloodied from a public whipping, compassion overrode her parents’ objections. She nursed him back to health, enduring humiliation and illness for his sake, believing he would one day repay her devotion.

Three years later, when the Su family faced ruin, she went to the newly-crowned Crown Prince Gu Zhou with hope in her heart—only to be met with icy hatred. Accusing her of betrayal and already flaunting a new favorite, he nearly strangled her under the withered tree of the Cold Palace, stopping only to banish her forever.

Su Qingwan left without a backward glance, determined never to cross paths again. But in the twenty-second year of Yonghe, Gu Zhou rose in rebellion. At the docks, as she prepared to flee, he cornered her—blood-stained sword lifting her chin, eyes cold. “Our debts aren’t settled, Su Qingwan. Where do you think you’re going?”

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