The Startled Sparrow: The Second Prince’s Consort

The Marquis of Yongning's household had a foolish legitimate daughter who lost her mind at three and suffered endless humiliation. The day her concubine-born elder sister pushed her into the water, everyone thought she was as good as dead.

But she woke up.

The girl who awoke was no longer the fool anyone could bully at will. She was a top law student from the twenty-first century.

Her stepmother was mistreated, household authority had been seized, and the family estate was being stolen. The first thing Gu Yuan did after waking was flip the whole game board. She neither cried nor made a scene nor threatened suicide. With nothing but an old ledger, she made the marquis, who favored his concubine and neglected his wife, break into a cold sweat. The crown prince wanted to take her concubine-born elder sister as a secondary consort? She recited a poem in public, and the emperor personally said, “Reward her.” Her elder sister thought victory was assured? Gu Yuan turned and walked into the Eastern Palace, ending her path to success in just a few words.

But she hadn't expected that while the mantis stalked the cicada, the oriole was waiting behind.

The second prince, Xiao Heng, was the most ruthless war god in Great Liang. He had gone to war at fifteen and never lost a battle. Standing beneath the palace wall, he saw through all her secrets with a single glance. “The game is too big. Take care with your moves, for there'll be no regrets once a piece is played.”

A legitimate daughter determined to turn the tables, and a cold-faced prince determined to seize the throne. From testing each other to joining forces, from pawns to players, she helped him ascend the throne, and he promised her an empire stretching across ten thousand miles.

A startled bird cried out, and the whole world was shaken.

She had never regretted a single move in this game.