Two Coins for Her Services: The Mad Regent Sends the Whole City into a Frenzy

With imperial authority in the Great Yong dynasty in decline, Qin Xiao, the powerful regent, holds the court in his grip, commanding life and death. Su Jin, eldest legitimate daughter of the Su family, is afflicted with the “greed” curse, which leaves her disfigured and the laughingstock of the capital. In the middle of a busy street, the heir of the Anping Marquis publicly breaks off their engagement. He is a demon above the clouds; she is a discarded woman struggling in the mire. Though worlds apart, they become bound to each other by a fateful encounter on a rainy night in a ruined temple.

To preserve her reputation and the pride carved into her bones, Su Jin uses her broken body to warm and cure him while he lies gravely wounded and blind in both eyes. Before dawn, she leaves two copper coins to buy off their secret night together, then walks away without looking back. A year later, the curse is lifted, and Su Jin regains her breathtaking beauty and astonishing talents. Step by step, she is drawn into the power struggles of the court and the inner household.

“Your Highness has mistaken me for someone else.” In a secluded corner behind the rockery, his broad python-embroidered robe envelops her. His nose nearly brushes her neck as he breathes in the plum fragrance etched into his bones. She remains unmoved, her every word cool and distant.

From his high-handed pursuit and twisted tests of her, to the madness and remorse that consume him when he learns the truth: when the one person who could save him is nearly broken by his own hands, the violent, merciless regent casts aside his pride and kneels in the pouring rain, begging her to look back. A wedding procession stretches for miles, and he offers her the empire as her betrothal gift. In the strict Great Yong dynasty, a scandalously devoted imperial edict to dote on his wife is born.