Cui Lingrong, the legitimate daughter of the Cui family, returns from the northern frontier and is ordered to marry the cold-faced Regent. With the young emperor of the Great Zhao on the throne, powerful ministers at odds and the secret guards acting independently, storm clouds are gathering. She refuses the political marriage, burns her clan’s letter, and slips out at night to thwart an assassination attempt, only to discover that her husband’s face is covered in burns beneath his mask. The imperial marriage tests her loyalty. She understands dog speech and detects an ambush, then drinks poison and survives. Suspicion hangs thick in the air. A golden hairpin lifts his face armor, a crow-headed token falls to the ground, and an urgent report arrives with the cry of an eagle from the frontier. On their wedding night, they read a secret memorial together, drawing her into the whirlpool of court politics. Her half-sister provokes her, her family applies pressure, and the empress dowager sneers. She advances step by step, using her ability to tame animals to break through each crisis, reading schemes in a horse’s whinny and establishing her authority with hunting hounds. A mistaken marriage turns into a cherished love, and as the political game begins, this perfect pair joins hands to play for the world.
