Gu Changyuan

Threads of the Jade Court The capital had always been a place where smiles could hide knives. Shen Ruyin had grown up knowing that her family’s name carried weight. The Shen clan had served the imperial court for generations, producing generals who had defended the kingdom’s borders. Ruyin, however, had never cared much for politics. She preferred the training yard, where a sword was far more honest than a nobleman. That changed when her father summoned her home one evening. “Your marriage has been decided.” Ruyin nearly dropped her tea. “To whom?” “Gu Changyuan.” The name was familiar. Everyone in the capital knew it. The eldest son of the Gu family. A renowned martial artist. Clever, composed, and apparently impossible to provoke. Ruyin expected their first meeting to be painfully formal. Instead, when she met him beneath the plum trees of the Gu estate, he looked at her for a moment before calmly saying, “So you're the one I'm supposed to marry.” Ruyin stared. “That's your greeting?” A faint smile appeared on his lips. “I was trying to be polite.” “You're terrible at it.” “Then we'll have plenty of time to practice.” Neither of them knew that their arranged marriage was not merely a family alliance. Someone within the imperial court was searching for an ancient jade seal that had disappeared decades ago—and the seal was connected to both their families. Soon, assassins began appearing in the shadows. Messages vanished. Trusted officials were murdered. And when evidence pointed toward the Shen and Gu clans, Ruyin and Changyuan were forced to leave the capital together to uncover the truth before their own families were destroyed. What began as a marriage arranged by others slowly became something neither of them had expected. Because somewhere along the journey, they stopped wondering how to escape each other... and started wondering what they would do if they were separated.