Overnight, she becomes the stand-in bride and the sickly Marquis of Yongchang's wife, sent to bring him good fortune.
Everyone laughs at her low birth and says she's the Shen family's castoff, doomed to die within three days.
But they don't know she carries the blood feud of her birth mother, holds a lost secret art of perfumery, can identify a hundred poisons, and can even... bewitch people's hearts.
Within the manor, the old madam inexplicably grows confused, the marquis coughs up blood and hovers near death, and all manner of demons and monsters harbor their own agendas.
At court, her father and brothers collude with a prince, secretly mine forbidden ore, concoct wicked medicines, and plot treason.
And her birth mother, a former servant of the Marquis of Yongchang who died young, turns out to be the key to every mystery.
"The key lies in the Xie family bloodline."
When the long-sealed last words are heard and a secret letter reappears inside a red-gold hairpin, she and the marquis, who seems to be at death's door, are forced onto the same boat.
He needs her superb medical and perfumery skills to keep him alive and break the deadlock. She needs his remaining power and trust to take revenge and uncover her roots.
Thus, the sickly marquis wields his sword at court, while his patient wife works with incense in the inner residence.
Together, they tear away the facade of tenderness and press forward step by step through a sinister conspiracy.
From mixed poison hidden deep in the residence to the blood-red mine pool outside Beiya Town;
From the wicked alchemy furnace in the Noble Consort's palace to the Nine Nether Caverns left behind by the previous dynasty...
A shocking conspiracy spanning decades gradually comes to light.
And when the mastermind finally appears, turns a sword toward imperial power, and the Xie family bloodline becomes the final sacrifice,
Can she ignite the evil-banishing incense, kindled with the blood from his heart, to cleanse the dark forces and bring clarity back to the world?
He takes her cold, trembling hand and makes a vow in the face of despair:
"The mountains and rivers are my betrothal gift, and my promise is for the rest of my life. In this game, we live and die together."
Theme: She wields incense as a blade, and he turns his illness into a game of strategy. Together, they embark on a breathtaking romance amid political intrigue.
