The Great Ye Dynasty is rotting at its foundations. The emperor and empress battle for power, while aristocratic clans and humble-born families struggle against one another. Seventh Prince Zhu Yichen seems gentle and patient, but beneath the surface, his thoughts run deep as an abyss. After years lying low, he treats the realm as a chessboard and advances with every move planned.
At the opening banquet, the Empress Dowager topples the emperor, installs Zhu Yichen as Crown Prince, and arranges his marriage to Shen Qingxian, the daughter of a disgraced minister. On their wedding night, Shen Qingxian stumbles upon his hidden secret: their marriage has been a chess game from the very start. He uses her to feed the Empress Dowager false intelligence while secretly building up the power of humble-born families. Yet when the Second Prince's rebel army closes in and the Empress Dowager orders her to poison her husband, he turns the plot to his advantage and fakes his own death to escape.
With the land in ruins, she fights bloodied to defend the city, determined to fulfill his last wish. He watches from behind the scenes as flames of war spread across the realm. When she finally lives to see him ascend the throne, she realizes that all her loyalty and sacrifice have been nothing more than the coldest stepping stones on his path to the pinnacle of power.
An emperor knows no mercy, and suspicion cuts like a blade. When she takes a fatal blow meant for him, those eyes, always so composed, finally crack with fear for the first time as he stands over her in a pool of blood.
This is the fated entanglement of master chess players, a searing romance among villains, and a tragic song of a nation caught between schemes for power and matters of the heart. Not until the very end will you know who is truly holding the pieces.
