The Brocade Zither Book

The story follows Shen Qingxian, an orphan from Yunjinxuan, a renowned embroidery family in Jiangnan. A sudden case involving a "cursed embroidered screen" sweeps her into a whirlpool of political intrigue. Forced to marry into the illustrious Jinghai Marquis household in the capital, she becomes the bride of Gu Yanshen, its frail legitimate son, in hopes of bringing him good fortune.

She believes she is merely a pawn, but with her mastery of the long-lost "warp-and-weft embroidery technique" and her keen eye, she makes a place for herself in the marquis's household. As the couple tries to support each other through turbulent times, they unexpectedly uncover a clue to a palace secret from fifteen years ago. They discover that the destruction of the Shen family, the Gu family's crisis, and even the currents of intrigue at court all stem from the same vast web...

This is more than a story of an orphan's rise to power. It is the tale of a married couple seeking the light together amid lies and truth, and ultimately redefining what "family" and "self" mean.