

Bright Candles Burn to Ashes, Old Affections Cut Off
Shen Mingzhuo guarded the ancestral lamp for the Shen family for ten years, exhausting her lifespan to ward off disasters for her clansmen. Yet the clansmen stripped away the lamp-guardian's title and gave it to her elder sister, Shen Mingzhu, and her fiancé, Song Yan, also favored the Shen family. When the ten-year term expired, Shen Mingzhuo resolved to leave. The ancestral lamp failed, and to light it, the Shen family destroyed her mother's life-protecting lamp wick and forcefully took her heart's blood. Secretly, Shen Mingzhuo removed the lamp contract, letting disaster backfire on everyone. Lamp-master Xie Changyan arrived, exposing the past truth: the one who should have guarded the lamp was aunt Madam Zhou, who colluded with clan elders to force Mingzhuo and her mother to suffer in her place. Song Yan repented and begged for reconciliation, but was rejected. Shen Mingzhuo rescued Xiaoman, refused to be a sacrificed lamp any longer, and followed Xie Changyan to rescue those persecuted by lamp contracts.
Main characters: Shen Mingzhuo, Xie Changyan
Supporting characters: Shen Mingzhu, Song Yan, Madam Zhou, Xiaoman
Also known as: 明烛燃烬,旧情绝
明燭燃え尽き、旧情絶つ (27話)
沈明燭は沈氏の祖灯を十年間守り続け、寿命を使い果たして一族のために災いを防いだ。しかし一族は守り手の称号を奪い、姉の沈明珠に与え、許嫁の宋硯も沈家をひいきした。十年が満期となり、沈明燭は立ち去る決意をする。祖灯が機能を失うと、沈明浦らは灯明を灯すために彼女の母の命を守る灯芯を破壊し、彼女の心臓の血を強奪した。沈明燭は…
沈明燭は沈氏の祖灯を十年間守り続け、寿命を使い果たして一族のために災いを防いだ。しかし一族は守り手の称号を奪い、姉の沈明珠に与え、許嫁の宋硯も沈家をひいきした。十年が満期となり、沈明燭は立ち去る決意をする。祖灯が機能を失うと、沈明浦らは灯明を灯すために彼女の母の命を守る灯芯を破壊し、彼女の心臓の血を強奪した。沈明燭は密かに灯の契約を解除し、災いを全員に跳ね返らせた。灯の使いである謝長衍が駆けつけ、昔の秘密を暴く。本来灯を守るべきだったのは伯母の周氏であり、彼女は一族の長老と結託して明燭母子に身代わりの苦難を強いていたのだ。宋硯は後悔して復縁を乞うが拒絶される。沈明燭は小満を救い出し、もう誰かの犠牲になる灯ではなくなり、謝長衍に従って灯の契約に迫害された人々を救いに行く。
明烛燃烬,旧情绝 · Bright Candles Burn to Ashes, Old Affections Cut Off