After her father died and her mother disappeared, eight-year-old Shen A Zhao was sold to an opera troupe.
From then on, she became Shen Wangyue, the most celebrated opera performer in the capital.
She thought that singing onstage would earn her freedom, never realizing she was merely a pawn in the hands of the powerful, a scandalous tale on writers' tongues, and a caged bird in men's eyes.
Some claimed to love her, some wanted to save her, and some personally pushed her into the abyss.
In the end, she died on the road to exile.
Only after her death did the world remember her kindness. They cleared her name, mourned her, and wrote the story of her entire life.
But the woman betrayed by everyone would never return.
While she was alive, no one would listen to her. After her death, everyone claimed to understand her.
