Everyone says that Shen Qingyan, Empress of Great Xia, has the honor of being the legitimate empress but has no place in the Emperor's heart.
After transmigrating, she becomes the most pitiful pawn in the imperial palace.
Her half-sister feigns virtue while framing her, her own family betrays her without a second thought, and the court's undercurrents push her step by step toward the abyss.
And Xiao Heng, the young emperor to whom she gave her heart, watches coldly as he lays out a path of certain defeat for her with his own hands.
He bears a blood feud and hides his pain, trapped by powerful ministers. All his life, he has excelled at manipulating hearts and plotting for the realm.
To protect her, he conceals his love, makes himself a pawn in his own scheme, and uses the cruelest imperial decree to stage the harshest of breakups.
Her title is stripped away, and she is sent to the Cold Palace. A raging fire erases the past, and the world believes she perished in the ashes, taking love and hatred with her.
Only the Son of Heaven, ruler of all under heaven, is left to bear endless regret alone. He searches the land from end to end for three years.
Reborn from the ashes, Shen Qingyan sheds her gentle facade. Armed with wit and a heart of iron, she settles every score with those who once bullied and humiliated her, and topples with her own hands the schemes that once trapped her in court.
Love and hatred intertwine; the players vie across the board.
He humbles himself at every turn, offering up his imperial power to win her back and atone: “Qingyan, I offer you the empire as my bride price, and the rest of my life as well.”
She looks back coldly, having seen through half a lifetime of schemes: “Xiao Heng, once you abandoned me to hell. From now on, I will seek to shape the realm, not to win your heart.”
A treacherous palace, two hearts hiding a deep and patient love.
They are sworn enemies who scheme against each other, yet also the only confidants who stand side by side through life and death.
When the dust finally settles and the storm passes,
the Emperor and Empress stand together, purge the treacherous, and rule over an age of peace and prosperity.
It turns out that across this long game of power, he plotted for the whole world, but when it came to her, he lost his whole life and gave her all his heart.
