In the Great Chu Dynasty, powerful clans were deeply entrenched, while the imperial throne and the nobility clashed beneath the surface.
Su Yao, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, lost her birth mother young and was sent by her grandmother to live in the countryside for twelve years. When she returned home at fifteen, she became a thorn in the side of her stepmother, Madam Liu, and her younger half-sister, Su Rou. They framed her for “bringing disgrace upon the family,” stole her identity, ruined her reputation, and finally made her die in agony with a cup of poison.
As the flames consumed her, she swore through her tears of blood that if she had another life, her enemies would pay for their crimes in blood!
When she opened her eyes, she had returned to the night before she was framed.
This time, she shed her timid country ways and drew on memories of her past life and modern knowledge, becoming a thorn-covered rose with her sharp edge kept concealed.
She feigns obedience while planning every move: exposing her half-sister’s mask of “innocence,” tearing off her stepmother’s façade of “virtue,” and bringing the Liu family’s corruption and fraud to light. She rises through commerce, opening restaurants, making cosmetics, and establishing money houses, earning a fortune while building a network of connections across the court. In the treacherous palace, she even knocks on the doors of the court as a woman, becoming Great Chu’s first female official and upsetting the balance of power among the nobility.
On her path to revenge, she meets the mysterious swordsman Ye Wuhen. He is the last surviving heir of the previous dynasty, burdened with the mission of restoring it. Yet as they clash, he falls for her sharp mind and ruthless resolve, and is drawn to her vulnerability and patience. From testing one another to entrusting each other with their lives, they stand side by side amid political schemes and support each other through the dangers of the martial world. Their feelings grow, but so do the choices demanded by duty to their country.
When those who once tormented her lie prostrate at her feet, and those who once looked down on her bow in submission, Su Yao stands at the pinnacle of power and looks back on the road she has traveled. Tempered by blood and fire, she has gained more than the satisfaction of revenge,
