Su Yanci, an illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongning’s household, has her marriage stolen by her legitimate elder sister and is treated as a disposable pawn by the marquis’s family. She is married off in her sister’s place to the crown prince, who is rumored to be crippled and doomed to an early death.
Everyone in the Eastern Palace knows that Crown Prince Xiao Jingyuan fell from his horse and suffered a lasting injury. Frail and always cold, he is the weakest heir to the throne in the court.
The Third Prince is arrogant and domineering, while the Fifth Prince is renowned throughout the realm for his virtue. Everyone is waiting to see when the crown prince will be deposed.
On her very first day in the Eastern Palace, Su Yanci discovers that someone has replaced the crown prince’s medicine with a slow-acting poison. The palace is crawling with spies, and the seemingly gentle and refined Fifth Prince is the most deeply hidden viper of all.
But what surprises her even more is the crown prince himself.
The world calls him crippled, disabled, and weak, yet on their wedding night, he gives her his study to sleep in.
The world says he has no heir and deserves to be deposed, yet when she becomes pregnant, his eyes turn red with emotion.
The world says his downfall is inevitable, yet he steadily brings the entire court under his control.
He says, “I pretended to be weak for ten years, waiting for someone I could trust to watch my back.”
She says, “What a coincidence. I pretended to be obedient at the marquis’s residence for fifteen years, just so I could stay alive long enough to meet you.”
This is a story of a daughter born out of wedlock forced into another’s marriage × a crippled crown prince × two powerful schemers × a sweet romance with a devoted husband.
They face every hidden blade and open attack together, and join forces to win an empire of peace and prosperity.
Two villains drive the story from beginning to end: the Third Prince is the blade in plain sight, while the Fifth Prince is the demon behind the scenes.
No brainless characters or inexplicable stupidity. The heroine is sharp, and the hero is fiercely protective of his wife.
The early chapters deliver face-slapping and scum-bashing, adorable children lend a hand in the middle, and the story ends with his ascension to the throne and her coronation as empress.
From a discarded bride to empress, she says:
“I’ll help you claim the throne, if you promise me a harem with no other women.”
He replies:
“Agreed.”
