After some of Chu Qiao's Xiulis have been wrongfully executed, she makes the conscious decision to break from Yan Xun before the icy lake scene and walk a different path. Canon divergence from Eng-subbed episode 55.

Chu Qiao and Yuwen Yue are reunited while negotiating their happily-ever-after and dealing with the fallout of her past choices. A flood crisis becomes the catalyst for a series of XingYue (mis)adventures that have them grappling with the personal and the political. This fic is positioned to continue where the icy lake incident left off.

A look into the moments following the frozen lake scene.