In the winter of the third Shengde year, a baby girl was born into the Su family. A vivid cinnabar mark glowed at the corner of her eye, her newborn hair was tinged purple, and a crane cried high in the sky, fulfilling the astonishing prophecy that “the female ruler will rise.” To protect the entire clan, her father, Su Shen, made the cruel choice to raise her as a boy and named her Su Yi.
She began speaking at five and hid her talents in the capital under the guise of a spoiled dandy. But after her ingenious crossbow design helped the northern frontier, she was forced into the struggle for the throne. Beneath the calm surface of the Imperial Academy, undercurrents surged. The Crown Prince was cold as frost, while the Second Prince was ruthless as a blade. She treaded carefully, navigating a web of deadly intrigue.
In the Golden Hall, her clothes tore and her hairpin fell, nearly exposing her identity as a woman. Deep in the palace gardens, assassins closed in, and her life hung by a thread. Using herself as a piece on the board, she planned every move, uncovered corruption in military supplies, and unraveled a treasonous conspiracy. At last, amid thunder and torrential rain, she turned the tide.
A phoenix nests only in a parasol tree. She refused the empress's throne and took charge of the Hanlin Academy. As a woman, she stood in the imperial court and forged a path entirely her own between the realm and her freedom...
