The daughter of Jiangnan’s wealthiest merchant, publicly jilted by the crown prince, joins forces with a powerful minister from humble beginnings who carries a blood feud over his family’s destruction. With commerce as her blade and political scheming as her game, she forges a path to the throne from a heap of moldy rice and uncovers the truth about the realm hidden within a pair of twin jade pendants.
“I can wear the phoenix crown, and I can sit steady on the dragon throne!”
“Your Highness, when you broke our engagement, did you hear the phoenix robe tear?”
Shen Zhiwei set her fireproof wedding gown ablaze. From the ashes, she drew golden threads tempered in blue flames.
Later, as those threads wound around the dragon throne, Lu Heng was coughing blood as he fixed the phoenix crown in place for her.
“What does polished prose in the history books matter?” His bloodstained fingers brushed her brow. “I want you to tread over the bones of my entire Lu clan and become the fiercest flame in this realm.”
