PAINFUL PARTINGS AND HIDDEN DANGERSFu Shen and Yan Xiaohan have barely savored their first taste of wedded bliss before Yan Xiaohan is sent on a mission south, leaving Fu Shen alone in the capital. When a sudden storm drives Yan Xiaohan’s party into the shelter of a mysterious temple, he is thrust into unexpected peril, with Fu Shen too far away to help. Meanwhile, Fu Shen’s absence from the northern battlefields has given the Zhou Empire’s enemies a tempting opportunity. Once again facing the prospect of war, Fu Shen must decide if he is willing to bleed for an emperor that has repeatedly repaid his sacrifice with suspicion. As political schemes and foreign powers threaten to fracture the nation, Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan remain separated. With an empire’s width between them, will the newlyweds ever come together again?