Once a refined young gentleman whose name was known throughout Chang'an, he is now the sole survivor on the road to the afterlife.
A carefully fabricated charge of treason plunged the century-old Yi clan of generals into an abyss of fire and blood. His father and brothers died on the palace steps, his sisters were reduced to bones. Yi Qingyuan, once steeped in poetry and books, buried the last of his innocence with his own hands and put on the mask of revenge.
He made love his blade, exploiting Third Princess Zhao Wanning's obsessive infatuation to set the court in turmoil and become the sharpest weapon on her path to power.
She became a demon in the name of love. From an overlooked princess, she transformed into a ruthless empress who murdered her father and seized the throne. To have him, she was willing to imprison and hurt him, twisting her love into the most exquisite of shackles.
He schemes against her; she controls him. Their love is poisoned honey, and each is the other's deadliest weapon. When he finally kills his enemies and topples the dynasty, he also drives the last chance at redemption into a desperate corner with his own hands.
This is a game with no winners. Love and hatred perish together, leaving only the frost of late autumn to blanket the capital.
