In her previous life, Shen Qingci was a virtuous and celebrated empress, but her husband Xiao Jingchen and her half-sister Shen Qingrou conspired to frame her. She was executed with a cup of poisoned wine, and the entire Shen family was put to death.
Reborn, the first thing Shen Qingci did was burn the brocade that symbolized her betrothal.
“Whoever wants to be empress can have the job.”
She headed south, returning to the Su family in Jiangnan, her mother’s ancestral home. Over three years, starting with the old shop her mother had left behind, she opened banks, took control of the salt trade, and dominated maritime shipping, building a vast business empire rich enough to rival a nation.
When she returned to the capital, she was the wealthiest woman in Jiangnan, known as “Su Jin.”
At a palace banquet, the scoundrel Xiao Jingchen’s throne was in jeopardy. Seeing her radiant appearance, he bitterly regretted his past actions. “Qingci, I’ve kept the empress’s seat for you.”
She turned and took the arm of the decisive Prince Jing, Xiao Jue, smiling sweetly. “Your Majesty, allow me to introduce my fiancé. And by the way, I had someone create that hole in your Ministry of Revenue’s accounts.”
The Prince Jing who had once bathed the imperial palace in blood for her, and who now broke the rules time and again to help her, gently draped a cloak over her shoulders. He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade.
“Do you really think you can set your sights on my princess?”
