A tea merchant’s daughter from Jiangnan, carrying a blood feud, enters the ninefold palace.
A frail prince conceals a thunderous resolve as he investigates a case from thirty years ago.
She enters the palace to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death, only to become entangled in secrets from the previous dynasty. He plots to avenge his birth mother, with every step bringing him closer to her. When the truth comes to light, can they carve out a path to survival amid the bloodshed?
Lin Wantang was the daughter of a tea merchant in Jiangnan. After saving the emperor by presenting him with tea, she was admitted to the Fengyi Pavilion as an exception. She entered the palace only to discover the truth behind her mother’s mysterious death, unaware that she had been a pawn from the moment she was born.
Xiao Heng, the seventh prince of the empire, was born to a mother who was driven to her death by the Xie family matriarch. Frail since childhood, he barely survived in the depths of the palace. No one knew he was the master of Tingyu Tower, the capital’s largest intelligence network. Even fewer knew that he was secretly investigating the very same mystery: the death of Lin Wantang’s mother.
Poison at a palace banquet, a fire in the library, the destruction of Xiefang Tower, her elder sister’s brutal death… One conspiracy after another drove her into dire straits. Yet Xiao Heng always appeared at the crucial moment, offering her an umbrella, giving her a bottle of medicine, and telling her, “It’s good to have a grudge.”
He taught her, “In this palace, threats are often a bluff. It’s the probing that’s real.”
She asked him, “If that day really comes, will you treat me well?”
He replied, “As long as I live, I won’t let anyone bully or betray you.”
When the Northern Di cavalry stormed through the border pass, when the Prince of Zhenbei raised the banner of rebellion, when the Empress Dowager bared her fangs
She clenched her bloodstained silver hairpin; he raised his blood-soaked spear.
“The prince wants me to marry you so you’ll have another bargaining chip in the fight for the throne.”
“I’m marrying you because, in this cold, dark palace, you’re the only one who’s real.”
