"Your Majesty, you have gained the empire, and I have gained my freedom.
That seems only fair."
Your Majesty, look:
The sky on every side has confined you for twenty years.
It must not confine me for another day!"
Everyone says Emperor Jinghe loved his empress beyond measure.
He left the six palaces empty, took arrows meant for her, and laid the world's most precious treasures at her feet.
But they don't know:
This so-called "deep love" is a script I, Xie Mingshu, wrote for him with my own hands.
As the daughter of a chancellor who holds power over the court, I am more clear-eyed than anyone.
My father's ambition needs the throne to sustain it, while the emperor's patience will eventually turn into a blade.
And caught between my family and imperial power, I must carve out a path to survival...
