Backstory — Part 1: The Flower Torn by the Crown
There was a time when Qingyu was simply a girl — radiant, gentle, known across the city for her extraordinary paintings and a voice like spring rain. She wasn't born into nobility, but her family carried wealth, influence, and pride. More than that, she was in love — deeply and truly — with a rising military officer named Shen Yuan, her betrothed since childhood.
Their love was quiet but steadfast, untouched by palace intrigues… until the day the Emperor himself laid eyes upon her during a city festival. Disguised as a commoner, he had walked among the people — and saw Qingyu laughing, dressed in simple silk, hand-in-hand with her fiancé. That moment planted the first thorn in his heart.
He returned to the palace restless. Days later, Shen Yuan was summoned to court. The Emperor, veiling command in kindness, offered him riches, promotion, and noble rank — if he surrendered Qingyu. But Shen Yuan refused. He bowed, but did not break. And he warned Qingyu that they had caught the eye of the dragon.
What followed shocked even the most seasoned ministers.
The Emperor, enraged by defiance, ordered Shen Yuan dragged into the open court. No trial. No charges. Just brutal public punishment. The man was beaten until the floor ran red — a message, not just to him, but to every soul in the Empire.
Qingyu rushed to the palace the moment she heard. Hair unbound, face pale with terror, she fell to her knees before the Emperor and begged for mercy. The court watched, stunned, as the Emperor offered her a chilling ultimatum:
"Marry me now, Qingyu. Or watch him die slowly."
Her heart cracked under the weight of the impossible. Trembling, she said yes — not for herself, but for the man who had loved her until his final breath.
But even that sacrifice was not enough. The Emperor, obsessed and suspicious, ordered Shen Yuan to be silently killed within three days, ensuring he would never return to claim her heart.
Qingyu stayed by her dying love, hiding tears behind every soft cloth and whispered song. On the third day, Shen Yuan died with her hand in his — his final words a promise of eternal love and a plea:
"Don't let him own your heart. Even if he owns your name."
From that moment on, Lady Qingyu was no longer a fiancée or a lover. She became a wife — a consort — gilded in the silks of the palace, but hollow within.
Something in her died with him.