The year the Great Yong Dynasty reinstated the imperial examinations, the Shen clan, a distinguished family with a century-old pedigree, had gone three generations without a single member entering officialdom.
Shen Qingyan is determined to leave the depths of the begonia courtyard and return to the imperial court.
From a ninth-rank county registrar to the first-rank Left Chancellor of the Phoenix Pavilion, she reforms the justice system, puts public finances in order, quells a palace coup, and supports the new emperor, navigating every step between noble houses, factional strife, and imperial power. Some demand that she honor her family status; others pressure her to attach herself to the powerful. But what she has always wanted is more than wealth and status.
She was born to stand at the pinnacle of the court.
