In the winter of the twelfth year of Yongchang, Xiao Jingchen, the deposed crown prince, had spent three months imprisoned in the Cold Palace. On a snowy night, a slender figure carrying a glass lantern stepped into the Palace of Reflection.
Shen Zhiwei, the Duke of Zhenguo's legitimate daughter, set a Yonghe Tongbao coin before him. "That golden arrow from the seventh year of Yuanzhao, number twenty, I found three feet beneath the mud in the East Palace lotus pond. Your Highness, someone has spent fourteen years laying out this game of chess. We are both already pieces on the board."
Behind her lay the witchcraft case, the old Xishan case, the mystery of Prince Duan's fall from his horse, and the hand manipulating everything from within the palace.
Xiao Jingchen took the rusted copper coin. "What do you want?"
"I want Your Highness to reclaim the crown prince's position, restore order to the court, and bring justice to those who died unjustly."
"At what cost?"
"My Shen family has always been loyal. We will stand with Your Highness through every trial, and never betray you, in life or in death."
Snow fell around the palace lantern. In her eyes, he saw the vast realm burning like a raging fire.
From then on, the deposed crown prince of the Cold Palace and the general's legitimate daughter formed an alliance with a bloodstained copper coin, embarking on a long journey to purge the court of corrupt officials, cut down traitors, and prove their innocence. And when their game of chess finally ended, he offered her his empire as a bride gift and asked, "My dear, will you watch over this vast realm with me, and enjoy peace year after year?"
