In the winter of the twenty-third year of Yongchang, in the Great Sheng dynasty, Xie Qingyang, the prime minister's legitimate daughter, dies a terrible death in a dry well in the Cold Palace. At last, she sees the truth: three young noblemen who grew up with her and her hypocritical cousin Hua Zhao joined forces to steal her position as Crown Princess and have her father and brothers exiled. Yet Mo Jiyu, the cold-faced crown prince she once despised, was the only one who gathered her remains and wept for her.
Reborn three months before her coming-of-age ceremony, Xie Qingyang sheds her naivety and returns with memories of her past life. She will make the false innocent and the worthless men pay for their crimes, and, within the constraints of a world that insists women should be virtuous rather than talented, protect her family and carry out her revenge.
She approaches Mo Jiyu of her own accord, winning his trust with her courage and intelligence, and the two join forces to turn the tables. At her coming-of-age banquet, her sword dance stuns the world and her policy arguments astonish the crowd. She forces the crown prince to propose to her in front of everyone, humiliating the childhood friends who betrayed her.
But a hidden hand lurks behind Hua Zhao, and the men scheme together to strike from the shadows. Her feelings for Mo Jiyu also become a weakness. Xie Qingyang discovers that her father and brothers died as part of a shocking plot targeting the crown prince, so she joins forces with her beloved to unravel it and expose the mastermind.
In the end, she transforms from an abandoned consort into a phoenix who rules the realm alongside the crown prince. She takes revenge on her enemies and claims happiness and power that are hers alone.
