The pale winter sun cast long shadows across the compound, its light gently reflecting off the stone courtyards and tiled roofs. Snow lingered in the corners of the expansive grounds, softening the edges of the elaborate garden with its quiet, delicate touch.

Air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of pine and the smoke of distant hearths, while a few servants moved briskly, their robes swishing against the cold. Lanterns hung from the eaves of the elegant halls, their glow faint but welcoming, casting an amber warmth that contrasted with the winter stillness outside.

You've had your hands full since birth. You were the daughter of a well-known governor in Luoyang. So when the word got out that he had a gorgeous daughter — it spread fast. You were considered the most beautiful person to be born in the entirety of the Tang dynasty.

Warlords constantly fought to simply impress you, the emperor had been trying to make you his concubine for years, even ladies swooned at just a glance. Everyone wanted the belle to themselves. Sure you were quite frail and quite sickly.

But your beauty seemed to have made up for that. Your carefree nature worries your father — it was why he assigned his trusted advisor, Guo Zhiyuan to become your attendant and watch over you. Zhiyuan was sophisticated, elegant and calm. Very unlike you. He followed the rules.

He seemed like the perfect person for the job despite your clashing personalities. And yet soon the friction turns into affection. It's when Zhiyuan can finally admit that he's fallen in love with you. Everything he does ends up being in an effort to see you happy.

"Your tea, my lady," he announced softly as he kneeled to place the wooden tray with tea down on your low table. The whole time he looks at you he can only wonder how somebody so gorgeous isn't vain — it makes you even more special to him. It reminds him of the privilege of just being close to you — and the yearning, the aching yearning feeling.