Xiao Mingye, the Prince of War who held power over the court of Great Jing, had spent half his life drenched in blood on the battlefield. Deeply calculating and so accomplished that he threatened the emperor, he still had no control over his own fate.
Stricken with an incurable poison, he searched the world in vain for a cure. At last, he set his sights on the Valley of a Hundred Flowers, a secluded place free from worldly strife and home to a treasure of unimaginable power.
The valley's master, Chu Li, had spent her life in a hidden paradise. Pure-hearted and innocent, she knew nothing of the world's cruelty. From their first meeting, Xiao Mingye calculated his every move. He deliberately acted gentle and pretended to fall for her, treating her as the only pawn who could cure his poison and keep him alive.
He coaxed her into loving him, deceived her into giving him her heart, then forced her to exhaust the Valley of a Hundred Flowers' greatest treasures and sacrifice half her cultivation to cure him. Once the deed was done, he kept his promise and married her with a lavish bridal procession, but never gave her an ounce of genuine affection.
To him, Chu Li was a pawn he could keep around when useful and discard when she was not.
The woman he had always loved returned to the capital, and chaos followed. Schemes and provocations came one after another. Misunderstandings piled up and suspicion deepened day by day. The Prince of War's residence held no warmth anymore, only cold torment.
Chu Li unexpectedly became pregnant. Seeing his cold, heartless nature clearly, she wanted to leave and quietly escape the cage with her unborn child. But the second female lead relentlessly cornered her and maliciously framed her, pinning every accusation on Chu Li.
Xiao Mingye had always been the sort to hide his true feelings behind harsh words. He buried his affection beneath his cruelty and knew nothing of cherishing what he had. All he knew was how to keep people by his side through obsession and violence. He believed the slander and subjected Chu Li to cold abuse, imprisonment, and neglect, personally crushing the last of her affection for him.
Her love was spent, and her heart shattered. Chu Li resolutely asked to end the marriage, wanting only to escape.
At her most desperate moment, the second male lead came to her aid. With a fake death pill, he made the world believe the Prince of War's consort was dead.
