(Clear-eyed, ruthless princess + two strong, competitive male leads; business and household intrigue; the scoundrel's road to redemption; love and hate intertwined)
Song Jinyi is the Empress Dowager's most beloved granddaughter, a descendant of the loyal and valiant Duke of Zhenguo, and the cherished jewel raised by the wealthiest family in Jiangnan. She commands a fortune worth millions.
But on the eve of her wedding, her body was taken over.
When she awoke again, she learned that while possessed, she had sacrificed half the Song family's wealth to pave the way for the impoverished scholar Lu Zhi'an to rise to prominence.
To climb the ranks, Lu Zhi'an had already married into another powerful family in the capital. The two had conspired to swallow the Song family's century-old fortune whole.
Clutching a fake marriage contract, the man smiled cruelly.
“Jinyi, so what if the marriage contract is fake? Once you leave me, who in this world would dare marry you?”
What he didn't know was this:
The woman standing before him was the real Song Jinyi.
She scoffed.
A fake marriage contract? Perfect. That saved her the trouble of getting a divorce.
In a single night, she went from a helpless Jiangnan orphan at the mercy of others to the most honored Princess Zhaohua in the capital.
Wealth gave her confidence; power was the blade in her hand.
She would turn the Song family from Jiangnan's wealthiest into the greatest imperial merchants in Great Qian, elevating them into the ranks of the nobility.
Not long after, the Lu family knelt in disarray outside the princess's residence, begging through their tears:
“Jinyi, we were wrong. Please come back…”
The Empress Dowager smiled as she spread a stack of suitor profiles before her.
“My darling deserves the finest man in all of Great Qian.”
Song Jinyi smiled and accepted, calmly weighing the advantages behind each marriage proposal.
Then she looked up and saw a figure approaching at an unhurried pace.
A chill ran down her spine.
Dressed in a prince's robes, he fixed her with a deep, penetrating gaze.
“My lady, it's time you repaid the debt of love you owe me…”
