Held in the Lonely Castle Chapter 0

The Lonely City / Author: Milan Lady




Would you choose a love without physical intimacy or a marriage with physical intimacy but no love?

This is a story lost in the annals of Song Dynasty history. The emperor's beloved daughter chose the former.




In the eyes of remonstrance officials like Sima Guang, the female protagonist of this story "did not adhere to the strict teachings of her governess, unaware of the principles of gain and loss. She indulged her whims, fearless and unrestrained, repeatedly defying the commands of her father and husband, and scorned her marital family." The male protagonist "lacked self-discipline, his transgressions were grave. His crimes piled high as mountains, deserving severe punishment." Their astonishing love story is hidden within these moralistic condemnations.




Misled, the path to Peach Blossom Spring,

Miles of misty waters stretch into dusk.

I cannot keep you, you must go,

Passing idle days through autumn moons and spring breezes.

Peach blossoms scatter like red rain,

The face of the beloved is nowhere to be found.




Prologue




I personally drove the carriage for her, speeding through the rainy night of Dongjing.

"Are we there yet?" she occasionally asked from inside the carriage. Her wails trailed the entire journey, the only discernible words amidst her sobs.




"Almost, almost..." I replied, raising my whip to strike the solitary ox pulling the carriage. The usually unhurried beast abandoned its leisurely gait, startled into a frantic gallop. The wheels beneath the carriage creaked as we raced through the deserted alleyways.




The bustling streets of the day faded into dark, crumbling walls, swept past by the wind at the corners of my eyes. We must have traveled a great distance. The endless rain, mingled with her sorrow, soaked my clothes, the dampness seeping into my heart, leaving it cold and desolate.




Her cries grew more frantic, and I dared not look back, only urging the ox onward, hoping speed could carry us through this predicament in an instant.

When had the once-familiar road become so interminably long? It felt as if it spanned half my lifetime.




She wept without cease.




"Are we not there yet?" she sobbed again.




I opened my mouth but no sound emerged. In that moment, I felt an unprecedented weakness and sorrow, realizing with despair that I had no certainty of leading her to the other side of this dark night.




After navigating several more streets, we finally reached the main road outside Xihua Gate. Parting the layers of mist and rain, the towering imperial city gradually came into view. Under the eaves adorned with glazed tiles hung rows of palace lanterns, the high walls carved with dragons, phoenixes, and flying clouds—this was our destination.




Xihua Gate had long been closed. The guards, seeing my approach with the carriage, immediately shouted from afar, "Who dares to drive a carriage so close to the imperial gates?"




I hesitated, then halted the carriage. Turning back to ask her to wait while I announced our arrival, I saw she had already lifted the curtain and leaped out, sprinting toward the gate.




Overwhelmed by grief, she had no thought for her appearance. Her hair was disheveled, her robes slightly askew, lacking the customary bridal veil and shawl. Even the ill-fitting outer garment was one I had hastily draped over her earlier.




Weeping wildly, she rushed toward Xihua Gate, only to be intercepted by two guards who seized her arms, angrily trying to drive her away. Yet she struggled with surprising strength, breaking free and dashing to the gate.




With her delicate hands, she pounded on the closed palace doors, crying out between sobs, "Father! Mother! Open the door! Let me come home..."




The guards erupted in uproar, rushing to drag her away. As two burly guards pulled her back, her hands still strained toward the vermilion-lacquered doors studded with golden nails. She called incessantly for her parents. Thunder rumbled overhead, the wind and rain grew murky, and her cries pierced through, unbearably mournful.




After dragging her some distance, the guards threw her to the ground. Seeing her attempt to rise and run back, one guard, enraged, raised his halberd, ready to strike her.




He did not bring it down, for I seized his wrist from behind.




The guard turned, glaring. "Who are you?"




I did not answer, my gaze shifting past his shoulder to her on the ground.




She lay half-collapsed, weeping helplessly. Her face was pale, her frail frame swallowed by the oversized pale robe, like a pool of moonlight on the verge of vanishing.




The incensed guard tried to shake me off, but his companion stopped him.




"Wait! I recognize him," the other guard said, scrutinizing me before confirming in a low voice, "He is the esteemed Liang Huaiji. He has entered and exited the palace through here several times before."




The halberd-wielder paused, then looked at the woman they had thrown down. "Then this lady is..."




I stepped forward to help her up, ensuring she was unharmed before addressing the guard.




"Princess Yan," I said.

CHAPTER 01