Shen Qinghuan, the legitimate daughter of the prime minister’s household, was betrayed in her previous life. Her half-sister, stepmother, and betrothed crown prince conspired to frame her, ending in the execution of her entire family and her own death by poison in the Cold Palace. With bloodied tears, she swore that if she ever had another life, her enemies would pay in blood. When she opened her eyes again, she had been reborn three days before her coming-of-age ceremony.
Armed with the script of her previous life, she shed her naivety and let her sharp edge show. When her half-sister offered her poisoned bird’s nest soup, she fed it right back to her, leaving her to suffer the consequences and disfigurement. She exposed the crown prince’s secret affair with her half-sister before everyone, then broke off the engagement at her coming-of-age ceremony, causing a sensation throughout the capital. She uncovered her stepmother’s plots to slowly poison her birth mother and harm her younger brother, reclaimed control of the household and all its property, and settled accounts with each enemy in the inner court.
Xiao Jue, the cold-faced Prince of Jing, had given his life to avenge her in her previous life, dying with her. In this life, he became the ultimate devoted husband: when she sought revenge, he handed her the blade; when she wanted the empire, he paved the way. Together, they brought down the crown prince, quelled rebellions, and restored order to court. At last, they avenged their old grievances and retired together to Jiangnan, writing a perfect legend of a lifelong union between just the two of them.
