First-Rank Lady, Forensic Expert

Shen Qingci, a top modern forensic pathologist, wakes up inside a coffin as a concubine-born daughter of the Marquis's household who was framed to appear to have “died of illness.” Determined to win her freedom, she turns the tables and volunteers to become the bride in a marriage alliance with the capital's most dreaded living King of Hell: Xiao Jingheng, a sharp-tongued, caustic censor of the Censorate who delights in impeaching powerful nobles. On their wedding night, they seal a pact: separate rooms, no interference in each other's affairs. He handles the shifting tides of court by day, while she works to earn the money for an independent household. But plans are no match for reality. When the Noble Consort dies mysteriously, someone places a flawed ancient autopsy report before her. “You know how to read this?” he asks mockingly. Shen Qingci glances at it. “The signs of asphyxiation don't match the ligature mark. I want to examine the body.” From then on, by day she helps him solve cases, explains toxicology with chemical equations, and reconstructs crime scenes to identify the culprit, becoming a “female advisor” in the judicial bureau. By night, she runs the capital's hottest immersive murder-mystery venue, the Floating Life Pavilion, and secretly weaves an intelligence network as her partner, “Boss Shen.” Back at the residence, the two are a contract-bound “bickering couple,” trading barbs about each other's acting with a copy of their “Cooperation Agreement” in hand. He thought he had married a frail nuisance, only to discover that she could read life and death in people's eyes and discern the workings of the world by listening. She thought she had married a sharp-tongued official in robes, only to stumble upon another identity beneath his night clothes: a man who commanded the hidden currents of the night. As unsolved cases pile up and a conspiracy points straight to the throne, Shen Qingci produces her portable forensic examination kit. “Lord Xiao, shall we take our partnership to the next level? You handle court politics, and I'll handle communication with the dead.” Xiao Jingheng drops his teasing manner and takes her hand. “It's a promise. My Shen coroner, my Boss Shen, my one and only… wife.”