The Forensic Beauty Leaves the Marquis's Manor, and the Powerful Minister Falls Madly in Love

Zhu Qingci, once the shining jewel of the imperial capital, became a lowly registered commoner overnight, an orphan everyone could bully. She hid her sharp edges and subdued her brilliance, then used her astonishing forensic skills to gain entry to the doors of Xiao Yan, Marquis of Jing'an, the most ruthless powerful official in the Great Yin dynasty. Under a one-year contract, she was the most docile and understanding canary he kept at his country estate, as well as an insignificant piece on his political chessboard.

He thought he controlled everything, enjoying her gentleness, never realizing that this caged bird had long been using his influence to hone talons sharp enough to rend the sky. When she cleared her father's name and stood beside him at court in the robes of a seventh-rank official, her cool, distant eyes no longer held a trace of their former tenderness. She tore their "just for fun" game to shreds with her own hands.

In the Golden Throne Hall, before all the officials, Marquis Xiao Yan tasted what it was like to lose control for the first time. He looked at the woman who had once spoken sweetly in his arms, but now argued her case against him, and a boulder named "regret" slammed into his heart. He had once dismissed her scornfully: "This gold and silver will keep you fed and clothed for the rest of your life." Now she replied calmly, "My lord, I am now an official of the imperial court. Whatever passed between us is settled, payment in full."