Wrapped in a cold brocade quilt, she carries a shocking secret of birth. The top scholar who claimed all six honors bears a blood pact that binds the realm.
A power struggle leads to an “exchange of the prince for a civet cat,” casting a newborn girl into the abyss. Forced to become the “legitimate son” Xiao Ling of the Langya Xiao clan, she risks deceiving the emperor and bringing her clan to ruin, living in the world as a man. Within the deep-walled estate, wolves circle and murderous plots lurk everywhere. On the road to the imperial examinations, every physical inspection is like venturing through the gates of hell, with danger at every step.
With extraordinary talent, she claims all six honors in the examinations and becomes the foremost scholar of her age. She attends the emperor at court, dazzling all with her brilliance. Yet behind the glory stands the iron wall the Wang clan built from countless corpses, and a shocking blood pact hidden beneath the halo of being “the descendant of loyal and worthy subjects.” This is no simple mystery of birth, but a vast conspiracy involving the wolves of the northern frontier, corrupt power brokers at court, and the murder of a commander followed by treason!
Her public confession in the Golden Hall unveils the tragic tale of loyal heroes protecting an orphan. Amid the snow and wind of the northern frontier, her true nature as a qilin is revealed. Wielding the emperor's sword, she guards the border, roots out corruption, and brings peace to the people. At her side is Xiao Jin, the “Blood Wolf,” whose heart bears the same blood pact and who is as solitary as a wolf in the desert. Are they kin, or enemies? Fate drives these siblings, torn apart by conspiracy, to a desperate stand fighting side by side.
With her wisdom, she can pacify the realm and secure the land; with her sword, she can defend the northern peaks. Though a woman, she accomplishes deeds that astonish the world. Tempered by political intrigue and the fires of war, she carves a solitary path for a loyal minister through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, repaying blood with blood and breaking the pact with a pact. Her achievements shine in the annals of history, and her posthumous title, “Wu Xiang,” lives on in glory. Yet the old wound in her heart and the loneliness of her origins become, beneath the splendor of the history books, the most profound and stirring final note of her astonishing life.
Theme: Breaking through the gender barriers to power under the imperial examination system, and finding self-redemption
