Cheng Xue, a professor of archaeology, finds herself in the body of Lin Wanwan, the unloved legitimate daughter of the prime minister of Great Chu. Facing the threat of being murdered and buried alongside the crown prince as his ghost bride, she uses her wits to escape.
She secretly maneuvers within the prime minister’s manor, outsmarts her vicious stepmother and the prime minister, who would sell his daughter for advancement, deals with her stepmother’s son and second daughter, and gathers intelligence from all sides.
She marries the seventh prince, Chu Mingyu, who is rumored to be “an idiot,” only to discover that he is putting on an act. The two go from testing each other to a tentative alliance, each getting what they want, until real feelings begin to grow…
Geopolitical landscape:
Great Chu: Occupies the fertile heartland of the Central Plains. Its culture flourishes and its economy thrives, but its military strength is waning.
Northern Liang: A military power established by nomadic grassland tribes, with cavalry unmatched under heaven.
Southern Xinjiang: A mysterious land of witchcraft and gu poison, skilled in poisons and beast taming, with rugged terrain and heavy miasma.
Great Yan: A maritime trading power with an elite navy, possessing the core technology for gunpowder.
