In the previous life of Li Wei, the eldest princess of Great Yin, she trusted her consort Xiao Jingyao and was deceived by his honeyed words. She helped him win over court officials and eliminate his rivals, only to watch him join forces with the Liu clan, her imperial grandmother's family, to stage a coup. They killed her beloved father and mother, executed her elder brother, the crown prince who had supported her, and threw Du Bi, the regent who had silently protected her all along, into the dungeons, crippling both his legs. She watched Great Yin fall into the hands of traitors, then was poisoned by Xiao Jingyao in the cold palace, dying with hatred in her heart.
When she opens her eyes again, Li Wei has returned to the year of her sixteenth-birthday coming-of-age ceremony. She has yet to be betrothed, her parents are healthy, her brother's position as heir is secure, and Du Bi is still the powerful, high-spirited regent who commands the court. None of the tragedies have happened yet. Carrying the memories of her previous life, she vows to rewrite her fate, destroy her enemies, and protect her country and family.
She faces an impossible task: under the traditional strictures that forbid women from participating in government, she must topple the deeply rooted Liu clan within just three years, expose Xiao Jingyao's hypocrisy, and clear up the lies and misunderstandings between herself and Du Bi from their previous lives, rebuilding the trust between them. Failure means her country and family will fall again, and she will die once more. Using her foresight to plan every move, she hides her true intentions while gathering allies, and joins forces again with Du Bi, the ally she lost in her previous life, to match wits and courage in the treacherous imperial court. Facing self-serving opportunists who switch sides and attacks from every direction, she transforms from an innocent, sweet princess into a shrewd ruler, gradually defying fate and rewriting Great Yin's future.
