Su Qingyuan, an inconspicuous concubine of the Su family, has lived under the aura of her eldest sister and the neglect of her father since she was a child. Her only solace is half a jade pendant and a medical book left by her mother.
A marriage decree broke the silence, and the marriage contract of the young prince Yeluhong of the Northern Desert was thrown at his frail sister Su Qingyao. In order to protect her sister's life and the Su family's apparent peace, Su Qingyuan put on red makeup and married away for her sister to the legendary cold and dangerous grassland.
She thought this was just a transaction of exchanging youth for stability, but she didn't know that the moment the sedan chair was carried out of the city gate, she had been involved in a huge whirlpool——
The rosewood brocade box her father secretly stuffed into her contained military and defense plans that could subvert both countries;
Xiao Jue, the powerful seventh prince, followed him all the way, his eyes unpredictable, as if he wanted to seize the box, but also seemed to have other agendas;
Murder is everywhere in the Northern Desert, with assassins from the second prince and secrets hidden deep in the grassland closing in on you step by step;
The husband Yeluhong, whom she had never met before, was rumored to be cruel and violent, but when he saw her, his fingertips touched the jade pendant under her clothes and whispered about the past that she could not understand.
The cause of her mother's death, the mystery of the jade pendant, the secret of the brocade box, Xiao Jue's plan, Yeluhong's true face... When the layers of fog were cleared, Su Qingyuan discovered that this proxy marriage was no accident. Not only does she have to survive in the game between the two countries, but she also has to track down the entanglement of love and hate and uncover the final answers to all the conspiracies.
Her red makeup is stained with blood, her medical heart hides her blade. As a concubine, she moves step by step amidst the light and shadow of swords. She transforms from a chess piece to a chess player, and will eventually make her move on the chessboard of fate without regrets.
