The Phoenix Returns

In the spring of the twenty-third year of the Pingshuo era, the Empress Dowager's faction framed Gu Xihe, the Crown Princess, accusing her of using witchcraft to curse the Empress Dowager to death. They claimed that the Empress Dowager was protected by the late king, and that Gu's failed curse had backfired on her. The emperor flew into a rage and issued an edict deposing her. She was sent to Qingyue Convent and left to fend for herself.

The Crown Prince had lost the woman he loved. To keep her alive, he had no choice but to bow to the Empress Dowager's faction and agree to marry a woman from her maternal clan as his Crown Princess.

But the Empress Dowager's faction feared that one day the Crown Prince would ascend the throne and bring Gu back into the palace. So they decided to finish the job and poison the deposed Crown Princess.

From then on, Gu Xihe was no more, leaving behind only a lonely grave.

In the spring of the twenty-third year of the Pingshuo era, the Holy Maiden of the Southern Wu Clan returned to her position.

Yixun, Holy Maiden of the Southern Wu Clan, may be as ugly as Zhong Wuyan, but she is gifted with words and ink.

Her medical skills are poor and she is no good at divination, yet she holds the position of Holy Maiden of the Southern Wu Clan, making her a major threat in the eyes of the Northern Wu Clan.

Nine years later, the wheels of fate turn once more. By the will of heaven, two people who love each other meet again, and their story begins to unfold anew.

Theme: Keep striving in the face of adversity