Pure Words Before Dusk: A Noblewoman's Scheme

In her previous life, Shen Qingci, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo’s household in the Great Wei, was one of the chief masterminds behind the rise to the throne of the Seventh Prince, Xiao Jingyuan. But her achievements made her a threat, and scheming villains framed her. In the end, she drank poison in the freezing pool of the Cold Palace. Reborn, she returns to the age of sixteen, at a turning point before her family is condemned for “colluding with the enemy” and before she is forced onto the path of a political marriage.

Armed with memories of her previous life, unrivaled mastery of medicine and poison, and a talent for political strategy, Shen Qingci abandons her gentle façade. Within the inner household, she foils her stepmother’s plots and cuts her half-sister down to size. In the capital, her talents dazzle everyone. She unexpectedly meets Xiao Jingyuan, a man she had never encountered in her previous life but had long admired. From testing one another to building trust, from joining forces to break through danger to standing together in life and death, she protects her family and avenges the bloodshed of her previous life, while he builds an intelligence network and safeguards the realm.

As political intrigues roil the court and war rages along the borders, Shen Qingci, a woman among men, navigates the power struggles between influential clans and the nine princes vying for the throne. She also helps Xiao Jingyuan quell turmoil at home and abroad. In the end, the two join hands to end the chaos and usher in a prosperous age. From a reborn legitimate daughter who first shines in the capital to a wise empress who guards the realm alongside her beloved, Shen Qingci writes a legend with her life: “It is never too late to find clarity, and true love will never be forsaken.”