The Thorn in the Heir’s Heart

Su Wanying appears to be the overlooked daughter of a disgraced minister in the capital, living under someone else’s roof and making a living by selling paintings. In truth, she is the sole heir to Xuanjing, the supreme commander of the former dynasty’s Xuanjing Bureau. Once a secret agency that monitored officials and protected imperial power, the Xuanjing Bureau was framed and wiped out. Su Wanying alone escaped, lying low for years as she waited for the chance to take revenge. The male lead, Lu Jinyan, heir to Prince Ning and hailed as the capital’s most powerful minister, commands the capital’s defenses. Cunning and ruthless, he supports the crown prince while secretly working with the ambitious Prince Qi, walking a knife’s edge in the struggle for power. His goal is to shake the court to its foundations and avenge his mother.

A murder in a sealed room involving the Grand Tutor entangles their fates. To pursue the clues, Su Wanying gets drawn into the turmoil under the guise of a painter. She proceeds cautiously, using the secret techniques and intelligence network left behind by the Xuanjing Bureau, repeatedly exposing her true identity only to conceal it flawlessly. Lu Jinyan sees her as an intriguing pawn, but as they test and challenge one another, he gradually finds himself drawn to her resilience and intelligence...