A piece of ancient crimson jade that could connect past and present dragged Qu Wuyou, a modern private chef, into the treacherous Dynasty of Culinary Splendor.
When the ninefold palace became a cage for trapped beasts, some sought to have her executed for "colluding with the enemy and betraying her country," while others extended a dragon-embroidered sleeve toward her:
"Alive as bait, you're still more useful than dead."
Mu Yanhao had never met a woman so vibrant and mischievous. She carved poisonous peonies into delicate sweet cakes, used pepper-salt pine nuts to lure corrupt officials into revealing themselves, and pried open the lips of a mute servant who had been silent for thirty years with a pot of divine porridge.
She was terrified of dying, yet still dared to grab with her bare hand the dagger he held against her neck. Her eyes reddened at the corners, but her smile was sly. "I don't understand politics or power struggles, Your Majesty, but when it comes to reading people's hearts through food, would you care to make a deal with me?"
As the Imperial Kitchen's flames cast a red glow over the palace walls, and jade court tablets in the Golden Throne Hall concealed countless poisoned blades, the emperor, now addicted to her charms, tightened his arm around her waist in the face of life and death. "What if I told you the endgame isn't to hire you as bait, but to marry you as my empress?"
A battle of wits between worthy opponents, a salvation bound together by lips and teeth. See how a modern queen of cuisine and a scheming, cold-faced emperor use food as a weapon to unravel twelve years of court intrigue and prepare a gluttonous feast that captivates both body and soul.
"I want you to lift the pearl curtain of your phoenix crown yourself."
"And if I lift the curtain, then your dragon robe too?"
"Granted."
