The Green Sparrow Enters the Capital

In the Great Yong Dynasty, the imperial court was rife with hidden currents, and the aristocratic clans and humble-born families were bitterly at odds.

Shen Jing, a former censor, was framed and executed along with his entire family. His only daughter, Shen Qingsque, survived by chance. From then on, she bound her hair and disguised herself as a man, taking the name Shen Que and posing as a scholar from a humble family. With half a jade pendant engraved with the character “Qing,” she slipped into the capital. She had only one goal: to uncover the truth behind her father’s wrongful conviction at Quesque Terrace, a gathering place for scholars that also concealed a web of intelligence.

Soon after arriving in the capital, she became entangled with the seventh prince, Xiao Heng, who was rumored to be devoted to poetry and wine. He seemed easygoing and gentle, idly waving his fan as if nothing could concern him. In truth, he was a man of grand designs, secretly laying a network of informants to hunt down the hidden hands manipulating the court. Calm and clever, she made her way through her mastery of calligraphy and mechanisms, but as the two tested one another, she gradually let down her guard.

When the disguise of a humble scholar met the prince’s relentless pursuit, and clues to the case pointed toward a conspiracy over the throne, they went from mistrusting one another to joining forces to break the deadlock. At Quesque Terrace, poetic exchanges and shared wine concealed sharp barbs; beneath the palace walls, schemes and power struggles mingled with genuine affection.

The half jade pendant led to an old case, and one game of strategy would decide the fate of the realm and their love. Can she clear her family’s name? Can he stabilize the court amid the chaos? When the truth is revealed, how will two people so far apart in status, each carrying their own burdens, find a place for their growing feelings?