Su Jingtang, the orphaned daughter of Princess Pingyang, spent five years lying low and honing her skills. Peerless in medicine and poison and unmatched in intelligence, she seeks only to clear her mother’s name. She is no delicate vine clinging to a male lead. Xiao Jue, the iron-blooded god of war who has guarded the northern frontier for ten years, is a careful strategist with his heart set on the realm. He is no lovestruck regent. Their first clash takes place at a Hongmen banquet in Prince Lian’s residence. They become equal allies and embark on a political struggle in which each is fully committed to the other.
With the imperial court and the frontier intertwined, they unravel the layers of conspiracy by Consort Dowager Kangyi and Prince Lian to seize and consolidate power, and expose the shocking truth behind the princess’s murder: treasonous collusion with the enemy. From the depths of a noble household to the deserts of the Western Regions, from power struggles in the inner palace to bloody battles on the battlefield, they outmaneuver their foes with strategy and put an end to conflict through war. Together, they quell the flames of war in the north and south and secure the vast realm. And, standing side by side through life and death, they fulfill a promise to stay together across mountains and seas.
