The Princess Does Not Marry

During the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, there was a woman named Zhu Ying. She was originally the daughter of a merchant in Shanxi; as a child, gravely ill, she was taken away by a wandering Daoist and lived in seclusion in the Qilian Mountains for six years. After coming down the mountain and returning home, her father told her that she was in fact the long-lost niece of the reigning emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, and overnight she was bestowed the title "Princess Miaoying."

An imperial edict could not lock away her nature, which yearned for freedom. She refused an arranged marriage, ran away from home, and ventured alone into the desert; several times, on the brink of death, she was saved by a towering Mongol general. His name was Bater, commander of the border fortress of Black City, ruling a stretch of territory and protecting thousands of herders. He was the enemy, yet he reached out to her again and again; he was of another people, yet gave her understanding and acceptance such as she had never known.

Two people who should have been enemies came to know and cherish each other amid sandstorms and wolves, and love gradually grew.

One is the niece of the reigning emperor, the other a general guarding a frontier for the enemy state—the confrontation of two courts draws them into an unavoidable bloody war.

This is a story buried in the history books, a legendary tale of "the princess who would not marry."

When Black City falls and the land changes color, in what way will she protect the one she loves?

When the smoke of war clears and an old friend returns, can a reunion a thousand years later make up for the parting of life and death in that year?