[A wildly satisfying revenge story | powerful heroine | punishing scumbags | devoted romance]
Wang Xiyue, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongning, conceals her identity and privately pledges herself to her impoverished scholar lover.
Six months of deep affection earn her only one answer: “Your family background is too lowly. You’ll never fit into high society. I need to marry a noblewoman who can help my family rise.”
On the day they break up, she watches the “poor boy” enter the General’s residence, where the guards all call him General.
Pei Linjue! Young General Pei!
He used a false name to deceive her into falling for him, then turned around and courted the Shen family, the Empress Dowager’s relatives. Was she nothing but a bit of amusement for him?
Wang Xiyue writes a song called “Jingwei” that sweeps through the capital, every word condemning him for deceiving her under an assumed name and abandoning his old love to climb higher.
The song sets the court abuzz. The Empress stands behind her, Consort Lan watches the show, the Emperor looks on coldly, and the Crown Prince secretly kicks them while they’re down.
The Pei household is thrown into chaos, and Madam Pei kneels outside Fengyi Palace in the rain at night.
The scoundrel storms over to demand an explanation. “Who’s out to destroy the Pei family?”
Wang Xiyue lounges in Tinglan Court, cracking melon seeds, a faint smile on her lips. “I am.”
Once a traitor, never again. I don’t want a prodigal who comes crawling back. I want to see you disgraced and ruined.
