My Blade Is Sharpened, Your Majesty

The Cold Palace is the sheath in which she lies in wait; the emperor's palm is her only path to survival.

Jiang Yan, the last holy maiden of the Xueling Tribe of Beidi, carries the blood feud of her people. Offered as a slave, she is sent into the depths of the Great Xia imperial palace. The world knows her only as an abandoned consort in the Cold Palace, never suspecting that she is Emperor Yin Fang's most secret blade. In the silent hours of the night, she wipes blood from his dagger; beyond the court, she silences those who never stop making “noise.”

Yin Fang, a young and cold-hearted emperor, keeps the rebellious daughter of a fallen nation at his side. He grants her a sharp edge, lets her kill, and regards her as the deadliest piece on the board. He believes he has calculated every move and is the only one who can direct her.

From then on, night raids through the Rouge Alley and snowbound rites on the Sacred Mountain, every bloody bargain quietly reshapes their fate.

Until the bronze ring engraved with star patterns burns against her skin. Her sealed bloodline awakens alongside the “star core” at the bottom of the Blackwater River. Secret letters revealing the empress dowager's collusion with Beidi come to light, and an ancient curse from the Western Regions' demonic cult descends. The board shifts, and the boundary between blade and player begins to crumble.

When he hands her freedom with his own hands, only to cough blood and collapse on the northern frontier after she turns away, she finally realizes that this deadly game, which began with use and calculation, has long been etched into their bones and become their only path to survival.

“Yin Fang, you said you couldn't bear the burden of love.”

“Then answer me: if you sleep forever, are you expecting me to guard your empire and your world all alone?”