Phoenix Plays Across the Realm: The Regent Prince's Beloved Avenger

One second before the executioner's blade fell, Shen Zhihan opened her eyes.

Her soul had transmigrated into the execution ground, and she was now the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's household, falsely accused of colluding with the enemy and about to be beheaded. With rain pouring down, she tumbled from the platform and used blood to carve two words onto a broken stele in an abandoned temple: "Blood for blood."

Feigning amnesia, she returned to the estate and navigated poisoned soup and deadly traps. The Crown Prince was a hypocrite, the Empress Dowager was vicious, and even a cup of calming tea concealed a secret drug meant to make her "obedient." Then Xiao Jingheng, the Prince Regent, was ordered to investigate the case and grabbed her wrist, still stained with "blood."

He saw through her disguise, yet glimpsed the fire in her eyes that refused to die.

She smiled, a sharp edge hidden in her words. "Is Your Highness here to interrogate a criminal, or save someone?"

From stealing the late emperor's relics from the Imperial Ancestral Temple to splashing poisoned wine into her enemy's face in the Golden Hall; from riding alone north to repel invaders to taking charge of the Phoenix Seal and implementing new policies, every step Shen Zhihan took overturned this cruel world that devoured its people.

And Xiao Jingheng always stood three steps beside her, silently handing her a blade and clearing the thorns from her path.

When the cold-faced God of War met a phoenix bent on revenge, their contest of wits became a partnership ruling the land together. This is a life-and-death game that began on a stormy night at the execution ground, and an epic tale of a love that would forsake neither the realm nor the beloved.

"In this game," he said, taking her hand and gazing at the boundless realm, "I'll stay by your side until we win."