How Can a Green Plum Compete with a Bamboo Horse?

Everyone in the capital knew that Shen Hengwu, the legitimate daughter of the Shen family, had a childhood sweetheart named Yanzhi. He would dig out bird's nests for her, buy her candy cakes, and secretly stuff a candied fruit in her mouth when she was punished. In the same year that she was born, the Xie family came to propose marriage, but Shen Hengwu refused. On the night she refused to marry, Pei Yanzhi broke into her boudoir through the window in the heavy rain. He was soaked to the skin, but he only asked: "Are you okay?" She thought this was the beginning of a young boy's affectionate relationship. Little did he know that that night he came through the window not only for her - but also for a secret letter hidden in the Shen family. Pei Yanzhi is not the son of the Pei family, but the orphan of the former prince. His adoptive father died for him, and his old subordinates are waiting for his orders. The imperial examination was a cover, deep love was a disguise, and even that rainy night confession was mixed with a conspiracy. And Shen Hengwu's life experience is the sharpest piece in his revenge chess game. On the day the truth was revealed, she asked him with tears in her eyes: "Have you ever been half sincere to me?" He was silent for a long time and only answered in one word: "Yes." But she couldn't tell whether this word was meant for her or the unfinished game of chess. Later, Pei Yanzhi ascended to a high position and held the world in his hands. But only the person who once smiled for him when he climbed out of the window never looked back at him.