A fanfiction based on a TV drama starring Chen Duling and Zhou Yiran. In her previous life, Chu Zhao was the legitimate daughter of a military family, but she became the cheapest pawn in Xiao Xun’s climb to power. Her youth was sacrificed to imperial ambition, and she ultimately became a casualty of the turbulent times.
When she awakens, the game of fate begins anew. Unwilling to repeat her past mistakes, she defiantly breaks free of the destiny laid out for her, plotting each move and taking the initiative to turn the tables amid the treacherous struggles at court.
They meet amid the chaos of war, and she encounters Xie Yanlai, an obscure illegitimate son of the Xie family. She recognizes his potential when he is still a nobody, gives him an edge and a path forward, and changes his impoverished, wretched life. He stands by her through every storm, helping her outmaneuver her rivals and defend the realm. From a lowly Imperial Guard, he tempers himself into a great general who commands awe throughout the court.
They pursue one another wholeheartedly and help each other become their best selves, joining forces to shatter Xiao Xun’s monstrous plot to usurp the throne.
With the turmoil temporarily quelled, Chu Zhao could leave behind worldly troubles and seek freedom elsewhere. Yet she sees the people of the city suffering in the flames of war, displaced and in agony. She gives up her chance to escape and returns to the besieged land, devoting herself to helping the young imperial grandson Xiao Yu secure the throne and stabilize the court as they await a prosperous age under the new ruler.
But just as the internal rebellion is put down, a foreign threat arises. The defeated Xiao Xun summons an enemy army to invade, bent on overthrowing the Great Chu dynasty.
With their country in peril, Chu Zhao and Xie Yanlai don their armor and lead their troops side by side. They root out traitors at home and repel the enemy abroad, shielding the people with their own bodies. With unwavering courage and loyalty, they defend the lands of Great Chu, ultimately saving the dynasty from collapse within and without and forging a legend of ruler and subject standing together through chaos to secure lasting peace for their country.
