第1章 他在替别人出头

He's standing up for others.

Shen Taoxi and Young Marquis Gu had known each other for twelve years, childhood sweethearts, their marriage arranged the year she reached 15. She thought her youthful love had finally come to fruition. But when Shen's father was falsely imprisoned, and Gu Jinwen protected the other women, looking at her with a gesture of alms and reassuring her that the marriage would remain unchanged, she realized that true love is fleeting and never truly perfect. Her young heart was trampled upon, her childhood connection negligible in the face of power. Yet, even so, Shen Taoxi never gave in. She personally severed the engagement, severing the twelve-year acquaintance, and braved the storms step by step. But no one could have foreseen that, just when everyone thought the once-powerful Shen family would fall, the eldest master would be released from prison and reclaim his position of power. And the pearl, once stained by mud, was now held in the palm of the hand of the man who had returned to Kyoto. ...Gu Jinwen wasn't the only one who had known Shen Taoxi for twelve years. From the moment he first laid eyes on that little girl, Xie Jin, the King of Huaixi, had cherished her in his heart. But at his young age, he didn't realize that once such a longing was born, it would last a lifetime, haunting him night after night, even after leaving the capital, driven by a desire to wrest her back to his side.

沈桃溪与顾小侯爷相识十二载，青梅竹马，两小无猜，于她及笄那年定下亲事。至此，她以为年少情意终得圆满。直到沈父被诬陷入狱，顾锦文护在其他女子身前，如施舍一般看着她，说婚事不会变。她才明白，真心瞬息万变，从来就没有什么真正的圆满。少女心思被践踏在地，幼时渊源在权势面前不值一提。可即便如此，沈桃溪也未曾弯下背脊。她亲手斩断了这场婚约，斩断了那一场长达十二年的相识，一步步迎向风雨。只是谁也没想到，就在所有人都以为显赫一时的沈家大房会就此没落时，沈大老爷出了狱，重新站回了高位。而曾沾上泥泞的皎皎明珠，也被重回京都的那个男人捧在了手心。......与沈桃溪相识十二载的，又何止是顾瑾文。淮西王谢瑨从第一眼瞧见那个小团子起，便将她放进了心里。只是小小年纪不知，那样的记挂一旦生起，便是一生一世，扰得他即便离京，也夜夜不得安宁，只想将她抢回身侧。