He brought her home from the battlefield as a child. Raised her. Cherished her.
Then he became Emperor — and the first thing he did was break her.
Forced to kneel in the rain while he took five concubines through the night. Then married off to a wealthy stranger who kept a mistress and a mother-in-law who made cruelty an art form.
She survived it all in silence.
Until he saw the scars.
And the most powerful man in the world wept.