Spring Wind Beneath Broken Bones

Shi Yueyao, the legitimate daughter of the Shi family and granddaughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan, should have been pampered and doted on.

But because she was switched at birth, she went from being the legitimate daughter to a despised concubine-born daughter.

Shi Xiuyun, originally the concubine-born daughter, took her place as the legitimate daughter and enjoyed the prestige of both the Shi residence and the Marquis of Dingyuan's household.

Her mother died in childbirth, and her father remarried. Her family blamed her for bringing misfortune and, after believing a Taoist priest's slander, abandoned her in a separate estate to fend for herself.

When she came of age, people from the capital arrived to fetch her, only so she could marry in place of her legitimate elder sister.

She refused, but was beaten unconscious and carried into the bridal chamber, where she was tortured to death.

Her elder sister entered the palace, climbed to power by currying favor with the emperor, and lived in boundless splendor.

Two years after her death, the Marquis of Dingyuan learned the truth and sought justice against the Shi family. Instead, he was framed, and his entire household was thrown into prison.

From then on, the Shi family rose swiftly through the ranks, while the Marquis of Dingyuan was left ruined and disgraced.

After being reborn,

she studied medicine and the art of poison insects, lying low among the powerful and influential.

When she returned to the capital, she was determined to reclaim her identity and expose the Shi family's sinister conspiracy.

The Shi family's plot was exposed, and the Marquis of Dingyuan impeached her father before the court for favoring his concubine over his wife and abusing his children.

The Shi family was demoted and exiled to the frontier.

Lately, rumors have been running rampant within the palace, all claiming that the emperor has hidden away a beloved woman and never lets her out of his sight.

But no one knows whether the rumors are true.