On a snowy night in the seventh year of Yonghui, a Plum Blossom Invitation connects the fates of two people who should have nothing to do with each other.
Xiao Jue is a former court loyalist who has concealed his identity, and the sharpest, coldest blade in the new dynasty’s Censorate. His lifelong conviction is that absolute reason can cleanse the court and make his vision of saving the nation a reality. In his eyes, emotion is the only thing without purpose, and personal attachments are a fatal weakness.
Xie Zhiwei is a talented woman from a fallen aristocratic clan, and an obscure palace official deep within the imperial palace. She endures beneath vermilion walls and green-tiled roofs, using her extraordinary intelligence to spot opportunities in the gaps between documents. Working within the rules, she weaves a net of her own.
When corruption in the grain transport system comes to light, he wields his blade in court and unleashes a storm of righteous fury. She painstakingly pieces together the truth within the palace, deciding the fate of the realm from the smallest details. From cautious probing and exchanges of favors to entrusting their lives to each other in moments of peril, they are both the most dangerous of allies and the opponents who understand each other best.
He gives her a Heart-Cleansing Pill to guard against danger; she helps him unravel the Silk Scheme and tell the loyal from the treacherous. Together they ride the waves of court intrigue, cutting down the empress’s faction. Beneath the covered walkway on a rainy night, his words, “Next year, we’ll admire the new blossoms again,” carry a quiet warmth beneath their cold alliance.
Yet the unrest in the transport system is only the tip of the iceberg. Rumors swirl anew around military provisions at the border, while the empress’s counterattack coils around them like a poisonous vine. In this game of power, where the throne and the great clans dance together, they are players moving the pieces, and the most important pieces in each other’s hands.
Their alliance began as a calculation, but in the end it grew beyond mere usefulness. When ideals collide with deep affection, and duty to the realm intertwines with personal desire, can they hold on to their principles amid the turmoil and protect the person by their side?
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It's very interesting. I just like to read novels about two strong characters, where both the male and female protagonists are strong, and they show off their tricks 🙂
It's not bad. I read the introduction, read and listened to 10 chapters, and I was attracted 😳