Shen Meitang

Shen Meitang was breathtakingly beautiful and exceptionally clever. At five, she could recite a thousand words a day and speak with effortless eloquence. At seven, she wrote poetry with an endless flow of inspiration. Before she was eleven, she had mastered the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Her natural intelligence and quick wit were beyond anything a tutor could teach! Who could have guessed that her happy dreams would be so short-lived? Hu, the Third Young Master, to whom she had been betrothed since childhood, was so sickly he seemed close to death. Xiao Zhenzhu cursed, “If she marries a sickly man, a medicine jar, a damned living corpse... she might not be widowed right away, but she'd spend half her life as a widow in all but name, and die of grief. It's practically the same as being buried alive, only not as quick and clean! Enough talk. No more nonsense. Cut this off before it gets worse and make him give up. Break off the engagement! Break it off!” The story begins with the broken engagement, but soon she is caught up in a struggle that seems like a dream, yet may be real, one that threatens to overturn the imperial clan. Amid layers of mystery, with her life at stake, Shen Meitang risks everything for the one she loves! Who is playing this game of chess? And who is whose pawn?