Chu Qingyin, the legitimate daughter of a general’s household, is sacrificed to protect her family. She is forced to take her half-sister’s place and marry Xiao Chengjin, the crippled and sinister Prince of Nan’an, becoming the laughingstock of the capital, while her half-sister takes her place and marries into the Third Prince’s household in grand style.
She enters the prince’s residence with a broken heart, hoping only to survive. But with her intelligence and composure, she takes charge of the household and establishes her authority. Unafraid of his cold cruelty and uninterested in his covert power, she unexpectedly finds her way into the frozen heart of this imperial uncle.
After watching her from a distance, he finds himself falling for her with possessive devotion, giving her all his tenderness, standing up for her and eliminating her enemies.
Her family’s opportunistic alliances and the court’s political schemes all become pieces on her board, and frost beneath his sword.
She goes from simply protecting herself to striking back fiercely. Their relationship grows from a marriage in name only to an alliance forged in life and death. In the end, she tears down the villains, breaks with her birth family, and helps him solve an old case and clear the names of the wrongfully accused.
How possessive is the crippled imperial uncle’s devotion? He offers her the realm as her bride price and vows to spend his life with her, spoiling his substitute bride until she becomes the only cherished prisoner of his heart. Hand in hand, they share a lifetime of peace.
