Jade Shards on the Steps: The Reborn Noble Daughter’s Tormented Love for the Emperor

[Reborn for revenge, palace and household intrigue, political machinations and tragic romance, two strong leads locked in a tug-of-war, the husband’s long road to winning her back, beautiful tragedy]

In the winter of Yong’an Year Three, Meng Qingxue, the deposed empress confined to the cold palace, drank poison and died. Her half-sister, dressed in the robes of a noble consort, laughed as she revealed the truth behind the Meng family’s wrongful conviction and execution. Prince Jing, Lu Jingzhi, stood in the snow in his black robes, personally carrying the decree to confiscate their estate as he watched coldly while Meng Qingxue walked to her doom.

Reborn at fifteen, she put her infatuation behind her and kept her sharp edge hidden. She stood up to her stepmother, rooted out the household traitor, and took charge of the family affairs. To escape the crown prince’s death-bound marriage contract, she approached the cold Prince Jing, who commanded the capital’s elite troops, and proposed an alliance through marriage so they could investigate the old case together.

They were spouses by agreement, each testing the other. Love grew wildly amid suspicion and old grudges steeped in blood. They broke apart again and again, and risked their lives for each other time after time, their lifelong struggle tearing at the heart. Once the realm was at peace, they were buried together in the imperial mausoleum. Their two halves of broken jade were reunited. He did not fail his kingdom, and in the end, he did not fail her either.