Thanks to the other examinees making her look good, Meng Xingci's own abilities somehow took her from the top-ranked scholar's position all the way down to third place. The emperor took a great liking to the new third-place scholar, and an imperial decree sent her off to Yanhuiguan to oversee troop reductions. Meng brought along two imperial chefs, a kitchen maid, and several carts of rare ingredients to take up her post. Unfortunately, Yanhuiguan was also home to a hard-to-handle young lord. On her very first day, she was thrown into prison. She'd made herself a formidable enemy.
