In the thirty-first year of the Jingxi era, the master of the Qin household dies of illness. Qin Guangzhuo, the second daughter, was sent away three years earlier for reasons unknown. She returns to the capital for the funeral, but on the way she finds a mysterious swordswoman, badly injured and unconscious, and brings her back to the residence to recover.
But things at the estate are far from peaceful. Relatives with their own agendas battle over the family fortune, while the long-reigning emperor suddenly falls gravely ill. Drawn into the struggle for the throne because of her father, the Qin household teeters on the brink of collapse, and Qin Guangzhuo has no choice but to hold the family together herself.
Meanwhile, the recovering swordswoman seems to be bringing her even more trouble. As people from the martial world join in, the capital, already seething with undercurrents, grows ever more chaotic.
The Great Zhao dynasty, which has enjoyed a century of prosperity, finally reveals a broken sliver of its true state amid this struggle...
1. The story focuses on court politics, with the martial world as a secondary element. The opening has just a little bit of household intrigue.
2. The setting draws on real ancient history but takes place in a fictional world, so it's a bit of a mash-up. The official system is mainly modeled on the Ming dynasty, but elements from any dynasty may appear.
3. The heroine is a career fanatic, completely unaffected by feudal conventions. She's determined to become a powerful minister and is highly calculating, but she isn't secretly evil. She can't even be bothered to pretend otherwise.
Theme: Even amid power struggles, true feelings endure.
