In these chaotic times, everyone in Linjiang Prefecture praises Liu Fei, the owner of a passenger boat, for her compassionate heart. Whenever her boat returns to port, she opens her granaries to feed the people. But no one knows that beneath its carved passenger cabins lies a den of lavish indulgence.
Her slender fingers glide over the jade abacus, a smile in her almond-shaped eyes.
"Benevolence? That went to feed the fish in the river a long time ago."
Then, on a stormy night, fire-tipped arrows from official ships hunting her set half the river ablaze, and Yan Xun, the kingpin of the illicit salt trade, barges onto her boat.
Liu Fei knows who he is, of course.
There's a bounty of eight thousand taels on the official wanted list, and the black-market price on his head is three times that.
Yan Xun presses his knife to her throat. "Let me use your boat to smuggle my goods for three days, and I'll keep your fleet safe for three years."
Liu Fei glances at the pursuers outside the cabin, smiles sweetly, and holds up five fingers. "We'll charge by the boat-hour. Cash up front."
Yan Xun scoffs inwardly, then lightly taps her cheek and pins a jade payment token to her hair.
But Liu Fei turns around and secretly informs the grain transport commissioner that the notorious rebel Yan Xun is hiding aboard her boat.
That night, when Yan Xun is struck in the chest by an arrow and sinks into the river, the last thing he sees is Liu Fei leaning against the railing, gazing into the distance, green jade glinting between her dark hair and eyes.
"In this world, the pure can't survive..."
Liu Fei smiles, sweet-faced but ruthless. "Those rotten to the core deserve it even less."
But she forgets: the wicked can live for a thousand years.
Yan Xun not only survives, he sets his sights on the Liu family's fleet and vows to drag their spotless daughter down into the muck with him.
A year later, a new emperor ascends the throne and peace returns to the land. The Liu family's illegal gambling den is exposed.
Liu Fei is thrown into prison.
When she opens her eyes again, tassels sway beneath a canopy embroidered with dragons, and a gold chain locks her ankle to the imperial bed.
Yan Xun holds the account book bearing her prison confession and smiles with ill intent.
He has every means at his disposal to make her submit, from force to flattery.
But after one round of threats and inducements, sweet talk and pressure, Liu Fei only smiles, just as she did that night beneath the river's burning sky. She plays along perfectly, but feels nothing.
Yan Xun doesn't care at first. He has her, and nothing else matters.
But things rarely go as one wishes. Greed is hardest to control. Even with her soft and warm in his arms, he still wants her undivided love. Liu Fei, however, seems determined to make things difficult: she insists he give her his true heart if he wants hers.
Yan Xun is stunned, as if he's just heard a joke.
A rebel who usurped power, and a pampered beauty who hoards money.
What true hearts could the two of them possibly have?
Theme: True love in troubled times
