On the day her engagement was broken off, it seemed as though the whole capital was laughing at her.
Lin Qingyue, a merchant’s daughter, became a discarded pawn in the Gu family’s bid to curry favor with the powerful.
But no one knew
that the jade pendant she had worn since infancy bore the emblem of the Xiao clan, the dynasty before this one, and held a shocking secret about the massacre that had wiped out her family.
As she searched for the truth about her origins, she planned every step carefully, swearing to overturn this cruel world.
Yet one person was always there to protect her: Su Mingyuan, the cold-faced minister with immense power. Though he was impeccably refined, he would gladly humble himself for her. “Lin Qingyue, if you want the case reopened, I’ll wield the blade for you. If you want someone dead, I’ll put the sword in your hand.”
But as the truth came to light, Gu Jinyu, who had once broken off their engagement, knelt and begged her to take him back. A marquis from Jiangnan watched her like a hawk, and even the crown prince was drawn into the game…
She smiled and drained her cup. “I’ll play this game of chess myself.”
But Su Mingyuan caught her by the wrist, dark currents surging in his eyes. “Lin Qingyue, how are you going to repay the debt of affection you owe me?”
In this game of chess amid a troubled age, who is whose undoing?
