Shen Qingci, the illegitimate daughter of the Shen family, lost her birth mother at a young age and was forced to marry in place of her legitimate elder sister, to a husband branded a “spendthrift.”
On their wedding night, she makes a pact with Pei Yuan, the heir who is rumored to be a dissolute rake: they will each get what they need and stay out of each other’s affairs. But beneath the calm surface, undercurrents run deep. The second branch covets the title and repeatedly lays traps, while her stepmother, Madam Wang, closes in at every turn, seemingly tied to her birth mother’s death. A hollow jade pendant leads to a shocking secret about a keepsake of the late empress. Shen Qingci gradually discovers that her substitute marriage was no coincidence. The secret her birth mother was entrusted to conceal all those years ago turns out to concern the truth behind a missing princess.
Her “spendthrift” husband is actually the nephew of Prince Chen and a secret agent for the emperor, also investigating the old case of the late empress.
Household rivalries, court politics, and the mystery of her birth intertwine. From distrust to standing together through life and death, the two face it all. When the late empress’s testament resurfaces and her missing elder sister, A Heng, comes to light, Shen Qingci finally understands: her entire life has been a scheme from the very start. Now she will break that scheme with her own hands, clear her mother’s name, restore her sister’s, and win an honorific title for herself.
