The Captive Golden Branch: Shen Liqing

Shen Liqing, the illegitimate daughter of the Shen family, is a pawn abandoned by her clan.

By imperial decree, she is married into a wealthy household and given to Gu Jue, the Duke's heir, who is said to be gravely ill and vicious-tempered.

Everyone says she won't survive her wedding night.

But no one knows that beneath her seemingly meek exterior, Shen Liqing has eyes that can "see" malice.

Her stepmother's affection reeks of cloying sweetness; her sisters' concern feels like cold needles. Every servant in the courtyard has their own agenda.

Her "dying" husband carries a chilling air of scrutiny, but no murderous intent.

He hides his blade behind the guise of illness, coveting the power of the entire family from the shadows.

She conceals her sharpness behind a show of weakness, seeking the truth about her mother's death in the narrow spaces between.

Two of the most skilled foxes at disguise share the same roof, going from wary opponents to allies plotting against their enemies.

When she takes a lethal cup of poisoned wine for him, he tears open the dark secrets of the imperial court for her.

It turns out that in this game of chess called "fate," they are each other's only chance at survival.

Shen Liqing: "I've seen the evil in people's hearts so often that I know how precious that little bit of sincerity beneath your disguise is."

This is a desperate counterattack, from the inner courtyards of a grand manor to the imperial court.

Glazed glass may be fragile, but it can also become a blade, cutting down every villain and breaking the game to be reborn.