Shen Weiwan, in her previous life: Under the assumed name “Shen Erlang,” she entered government service in place of her frail elder brother. Her extraordinary talent helped her family establish a firm foothold at court, but just as she achieved fame and success, her brother stole her identity. In the end, her family silenced her, and before she died, she saw that every show of “familial affection” had been nothing but exploitation.
After being reborn: She returns to the age of sixteen as the unloved legitimate daughter of a Vice Minister of Revenue. Her original self was timid and weak, pushed into the water by her half-sister and left to die in an “accident.” The heroine’s soul takes over her body. Though she looks delicate, with fair skin and soft features, inside she is an “old soul” hardened by years of political infighting: sharp-minded, patient, ruthless when necessary. Her goals are to distance herself from her family, protect those who treat her with genuine kindness, and live life on her own terms in Chang’an.
Xiao Che is, on the surface, an idle prince, the emperor’s younger brother. His mother consort died young, and he seems uninterested in politics. In truth, he has been secretly building up his own power and investigating the truth behind his mother’s “illness and death” ten years ago.
He meets Shen Weiwan by chance. At first, he intends to use her, but he is later drawn to the sharpness beneath her delicate exterior and becomes a secret ally on her path to turning her life around.
