Su Ningyun, the legitimate daughter of a marquis's family, was exceptionally talented from a young age. When she fell into the water in a plum grove at ten, Fourth Prince Xiao Jing rescued her and tricked her into believing he was the one who saved her. From then on, she devoted herself to Prince Rui, the fourth prince, Xiao Jing. For ten years, she kept her feelings hidden and helped him gain immense power. Yet the moment Fourth Prince Xiao Jing ascended the throne, just as she was about to become empress, the emperor ordered loyal ministers executed. His consort Lin Yueyan cut the twins from Su Ningyun's womb, and the emperor bestowed three feet of white silk upon her, then had the entire Su family massacred and made Lin Yueyan empress.
Her father, Su Lie, the loyal Marquis Zhongyong, was pierced through the chest by a storm of arrows at the city gate. Her elder brother, Su Ningxuan, was framed for conspiring with foreign enemies to rebel. His legs were crippled, and in the end, he was beheaded, his head hung at the city gate for all to see. Before her death, her mother, Lady Lin, was humiliated and then killed herself by smashing her head against the family shrine. The entire marquis's estate ran red with blood. Su Ningyun was confined in the inner palace, and it was only on the brink of death that she learned her whole family had died because of her.
“I hate this. I hate myself for trusting the wrong people. I hate that I loved the wrong man. I hate that my family was wiped out because of me. If I have another life, I will bring your empire to ruin!” The sound of Su Ningyun's dying, hate-filled voice lingered for a long time.
She returns to the day she fell into the water in the plum grove at ten. The tragedy has not yet happened, her family is still alive, and she is still the gentle, virtuous legitimate daughter of a marquis's family.
But it seems the person who saved her when she was ten was Prince Chu, the Seventh Prince, Xiao Yan. So she had mistaken the rescuer from the very beginning. On the surface, Prince Chu is proud and carefree, fond of traveling through mountains and rivers, the very picture of an idle prince. In truth, he is the emperor's favorite, and the succession edict clearly reads: “The throne shall pass to the seventh prince, Xiao Yan!”
Xiao Yan: If you want the throne, I'll seize it for you!
Su Ningyun: Then what do you want?
Xiao Yan: The throne is yours, and you are mine!
