A thousand pleas for mercy could not win her a single chance to live. In her previous life, she was a lowly maid who washed feet at Prince Duan's manor, treated like dirt and still pushed aside to die at a moment's notice. Reborn, she would never seek anyone's pity again.
She sought out the ambitious Prince Duan, Mu Yuan, and struck a deal: she would help him seize the throne and become emperor, and in return, she would be made empress.
The price was killing the woman who had given her body its original life with her own hands, taking her face, and living as someone else. Did it hurt? Good. If it didn't, she wouldn't make it past three episodes.
From a foot-washing maid to the legitimate daughter of a marquis's household, from having no one to relying on careful strategy at every turn. She helped Mu Yuan eliminate rivals, build alliances, and quell palace coups, even giving birth to a prince. Not for his love, but to secure her own future.
But Mu Yuan seemed to forget that this was only a deal. After she changed her face, he cradled it and said, “You're still you.” When she took an arrow for him, he said with reddened eyes, “I won't let you die.” She listened without a flicker of emotion. In her past life, she had believed in true love, and the grass on her grave was already three feet tall.
Later, she really did take the throne as empress. The entire palace hated her, and the court officials cursed her. Mu Yuan asked, “Have you ever truly loved me?”
She smiled and replied, “Your Majesty gives me wealth and status, and I bear your children. Is that not the most genuine love in the world?”
You want to talk about love? No, this is a business deal. If you can't offer trust and respect, then offer power and status. As for love? I gave it up in my previous life.
(Clear-headed, self-serving heroine × ambitious, career-driven hero; two strong leads locked in a battle of wits. The heroine never lets love cloud her judgment, while the hero gradually falls for her on his own.)
