The power of the Emperor Yong declined, and his relatives, Qingliu, nobles, and the inner court were all constrained. Su Wanying was originally the most humble daughter in the harem. In her previous life, she pretended to be saved and ascended to the position of noble concubine through the favor of the young emperor Xiao Jingheng. However, after the truth was revealed, she fell out of favor and died tragically, and her body was buried in a lotus pond. When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the cold palace. The young prince was still sick and torn apart, and had not yet ascended the throne. She was still holding the bloody fake empa in her hand.
In this life, she just wants to survive, atone for her sins, and get out of the palace. She pawned pearl flowers to buy medicine for him, and spilled poisonous soup to avoid disaster for him, but she always reminded herself: The emperor's favor is the most insignificant. But Xiao Jingheng saw through her retreat. The more he saw that she was docile and sensible, the more he knew that she had the intention to escape in her heart. She was afraid that he would settle old debts after he gained power, but he was even more afraid that she would turn around and leave after paying off her debts.
In the cold palace on a snowy night, assassins besieged the palace, and the candles in the ruined Buddhist hall were extinguished. She covered his cough with trembling hands, but he kissed her lips with a bloody breath and asked in a low voice: "If you are really afraid of me, why do you come back every time?" Later, when he became emperor, the Manchu Dynasty forced him to abolish his concubine and install the real savior Shen Qingtang as his queen, but he put the phoenix seal into Su Wanying's arms in public.
She lied to him, and he wanted her to pay for it with her whole life. But when true and false favors, the imperial tutor's forced marriage, the clan's collusion with the enemy, and the seizure of seals in the harem were piled up, Su Wanying finally had to understand: Is she a caged bird in the emperor's palm, or a queen who can play chess alongside him?
