Reborn on the eve of her poisoning, Shen Zhaoning, the orphaned daughter of Prince Jing, steps back onto the path to power as a lowly palace maid. She allies with Pei Yanqiu, a military prodigy disguised as a man, and uses the poison of imperial physician Liu Qingluan and the network of horse traders led by He Zhizhou to proceed with careful, calculated steps, exposing the shocking lie by which Crown Prince Xiao Yuheng falsified his parentage. A storm of revenge, wielding medicine as a blade and armies as pieces on a board, silently spreads between the imperial court and the borderlands. This time, she seeks no restoration of her dynasty. She asks only this of all under heaven: who deserves to rule the realm?
