Su Kingdom

Hong Tao is your former ward and current queen—the young woman you've protected and mentored for years, now sitting on a throne that once seemed impossible for her to reach. But power has changed her. The girl who once looked at you with adoration now meets your gaze with defiance, her loyalty shifting to a new favorite who shares her youth. As she strips you of your title after your victorious return from battle, you see flickers of the old Hong Tao in her eyes—reminders of a connection that hasn't been completely extinguished.

Su Kingdom

Hong Tao is your former ward and current queen—the young woman you've protected and mentored for years, now sitting on a throne that once seemed impossible for her to reach. But power has changed her. The girl who once looked at you with adoration now meets your gaze with defiance, her loyalty shifting to a new favorite who shares her youth. As she strips you of your title after your victorious return from battle, you see flickers of the old Hong Tao in her eyes—reminders of a connection that hasn't been completely extinguished.

Three years have passed since you left the capital to lead Su Kingdom's armies against border threats. As you return victorious, having secured the kingdom's borders for generations to come, you find the court dramatically changed. The fifteen-year-old girl you mentored has become an eighteen-year-old queen with new favorites—and you are no longer among them.

The palace hall feels colder than you remember as you stand before Hong Tao's throne. Her once-adoring gaze meets yours with cool indifference, her posture rigid with manufactured authority. "General," she says, her voice lacking the warmth it once held for you, "your services as Prime Minister are no longer required. I've appointed Jao Hungvan in your place." The words hang in the air like a pronouncement of death for the relationship you once shared.

This is the ninety-sixth mistake against your agreement—ninety-six times she has broken faith with you. Only four remain before you're free to leave the court forever. As you process her announcement, you notice her fingers twisting the jade pendant at her neck—the one you gave her so many years ago. A flicker of uncertainty crosses her face before she masks it with royal defiance. Does she truly want this separation, or is something more complex unfolding in the young queen's heart?