Jiang Zhaoxue was the daughter of a prominent Jiangnan family. But after her father offended the powerful by investigating the embezzlement of disaster-relief funds, he was falsely accused of treason, and her entire family was destroyed.
She was also demoted to the status of a criminal slave and reduced to the lowest-ranking embroiderer in the Wardrobe Bureau.
Jiang Zhaoxue knew her father was no traitor, and the Jiang family were no rebels. Behind that old case lay stolen relief funds, falsified military reports, and a group of murderers perched high in the halls of power.
She endured humiliation and kept her head down, using her embroidery needle as an eye and the old case as a blade as she clawed her way up from the dust.
She would clear the Jiang family’s name, and make those who had crushed her pay for their crimes in blood.
The first to see the edge hidden within her was Pei Yanchi, the youngest powerful minister in the court.
When they first met, she was kneeling in the snow, taking the blame for someone else. Everyone thought she was afraid. Only Pei Yanchi saw the unsheathed blade concealed beneath her meek, lowered gaze.
At first, he tested her and used her, treating her as a pawn.
Later, he watched with his own eyes as she rose from a criminal slave embroiderer to someone powerful enough to unsettle the court.
She wanted no pity or protection. She even dared to draw him into her plan.
At last, Pei Yanchi understood that Jiang Zhaoxue was no fragile vine, but a fire that could not be extinguished on a snowy night.
She sought revenge for the old case; he cleared the way through the court.
Their relationship began with suspicion, grew into admiration, was constrained by their positions, and ended with them standing side by side.
In the Golden Hall, Jiang Zhaoxue opened the old case files with her own hands and spoke calmly:
“This subject, Jiang Zhaoxue, seeks no imperial favor today, only justice.”
