A Free Story from Tia Shan
She built an empire from the ruins of two kingdoms.
She married the man who broke them both for her.
And the night before her coronation,
he disappeared into the white mist before the court —
leaving the throne, and her, alone.
Lin Xihe was sixteen the first time she met Xia Wan —
a man who would smile gently and confess to a murder
in the same breath.
She built her empire across the ruins of two kingdoms.
He stayed at her side through every battle, every betrayal,
every night her own throne tried to swallow her.
The morning of her coronation, he was gone.
The Empress He Could Not Keep is the story of what happens when a woman who has spent her life in survival mode finally gets the empire she has built — and loses the only person who knew what it cost her.
A complete short story of approximately 9,000 words.
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Behind-the-book notes, deleted scenes, the music I write each chapter to. Roughly twice a month, sometimes less, never on a schedule.
Nine palace stories are already written. Subscribers always hear first.
If you've ever loved a tragic heroine
more than a happy ending —
you're in the right place.
I'm Tia Shan. I write literary tragedies set in imagined dynasties of ancient China — stories of women behind palace walls, of love that arrives too early or too late.
I write in two languages. Each novel travels twice — once in Chinese, then again into English. Nine palace stories are already finished. The next ones are arriving.
If you've come this far, I'm glad you're here.
— Tia