During the Yongxi period of the Southern Dynasty, the imperial power changed like walking on thin ice. After the sudden death of the first emperor, Xiao Che, the seventeen-year-old Emperor Jingyuan, ascended the throne, and the court was divided between relatives and vassal kings. In the harem, the Empress Dowager Zhao listens to the government behind the curtain, and her niece Zhao Feiyan is a noble concubine, relying on her aunt's power to monopolize favors; the prime minister's daughter Shen Ruolan is named the Xianfei. She is known for being gentle and virtuous, but in fact she is secretly allied with the courtiers; there are also high-ranking concubines such as Lin Mengyao, the daughter of a general, who all have family ambitions.
Su Qingxue was originally the legitimate daughter of the Su family, a censor. Three years ago, her father was framed for treason and executed because of the impeachment of Empress Dowager Zhao's brother for embezzling military pay. She was rescued by her loyal servant and lived anonymously in the south of the Yangtze River. She studied strategy and power with her gift of photographic memory. During the draft in the third year of Yongxi's reign, she sneaked into the palace as "Su Wei", the daughter of a guilty minister, and was given the title of "Last Grade Dresser". A half-broken jade is often tied around her waist, and inside is the evidence of her relatives' crimes that her father collected back then - this is the sharp blade she hides under her weak appearance, and it is also the obsession that supports her every step of the way inside the red wall.
The deep palace is like a blood-stained chessboard, and everyone is a pawn. Emperor Jingyuan seemed gentle, but in fact he was deeply suspicious and secretly cultivated forces to check and balance all parties. Su Qingxue knew very well that only by becoming a chess player could she overturn this cannibalistic chess game and bring peace to the Su family.
