The Mad Chief Advisor Steals His Elder Brother's Wife

Lu Mingli is the most pitiful newlywed bride in the capital.

Carried in a wedding sedan to bring good fortune to the gravely ill heir, she becomes a widow before the marriage is even consummated.

From then on, she walks on eggshells in the marquis's residence, enduring cold stares. She is the unwanted daughter of her family, a caged bird with clipped wings.

Shen Jue is the least remarkable son born to a concubine in the marquis's household, a man of noble bearing and gentle refinement.

He respectfully calls her “sister-in-law” and quietly protects her when she is in dire straits. In the depths of that sprawling manor, he is the only warmth she has ever known.

Until the day he ascends to the position of Grand Secretary on a snowy night, gaining power over the entire court.

Then he turns and traps her in the crook of his arm, his eyes revealing the obsession and madness beneath his discarded mask.

“Sister-in-law, can you guess how my brother died?”

“I lay low and bided my time, planning every step, all for the day I could take you as mine, openly and rightfully.”

Only then does Lu Mingli realize that all the warmth was a trap, and every chance meeting had been carefully planned.

She is the moonlight he covets in the darkness, and the prize he has schemed relentlessly to claim.

He thinks she's a caged bird he can control at will, unaware that a gentle prey can hide sharp claws.

As the court is thrown into turmoil and the secrets of the past come to light, can she escape the prison he has built in the name of love and dance with him atop this abyss in a dazzling, world-spanning spectacle?