Xu Jinyin was dealt a cruel hand. Her parents were hopeless gamblers, and when she was only six, they sold her to a brothel to pay off their debts.
The brothel madam thought her beautiful and saw her as a money-making asset, carefully grooming her from childhood so she could fetch a high price.
Xu Jinyin appeared obedient, but she had long seen how bleak the fate of a courtesan could be. So, at a banquet before her coming-of-age ceremony, she defied the madam and took the initiative to attach herself to His Highness the Prince of Qi, who was out in disguise seeking pleasure.
She used every trick at her disposal to become the prince's favored concubine, living a life of luxury in his manor. Later, when he ascended the throne, she rose all the way to the rank of Noble Consort.
Unfortunately, her good fortune did not last. The Prince of Chu, the emperor's uncle, raised an army in rebellion under the pretext of purging evil counselors. As his troops approached the capital, the emperor refused to risk meeting them in battle. He bestowed a length of white silk on her, trading her life for a justification to deny his uncle's rebellion.
Xu Jinyin died with resentment in her heart. She felt that her life had been meaningless, and that she had never once been in control of it.
When she awoke again, she had taken over another woman's body: that of a young wife cast aside by her husband.
In an attempt to save her marriage, the young wife had traveled a thousand miles to find her husband at his military base, then staged a scheme to
