She is the "fox" of the colony, working every step of the way just to free her homeland from the shackles. She is the "chess piece" of the suzerain country, dancing on the tip of the knife, fighting for a real "being needed" until her death.
Mu Yi, the daughter of a colonial governor whose mother was held hostage, has used her vulnerability as her armor since she was a teenager to weave a dark web of intelligence covering both places.
Cao Shi, the illegitimate daughter whom the queen did not recognize, was adopted into a border family. When she was a child, she went to the colonies to learn Chinese, and spent three years with Mu Yi day and night - that was the only warm color in her memory.
Six years later, Cao Shi returned as colonial governor. They are work partners, potential enemies, and the only light in each other's darkness. Mu Yi consciously exploited Cao Shi's emotions and weaknesses to promote civil strife within the clan; Cao Shi knew that he was an abandoned son, but still subconsciously protected Mu Yi at every critical moment of life and death.
When the double edict falls, the queen must kill her. Will Mu Yi judge her personally, or set fire to all the evidence?
There is no winner in this game of chess. There are only two women trapped in the wave of history, a hidden thread that has never been stated but runs through their lives.
The ending is open for readers to decide.
Concept: Just a historian's fantasy