Sharp Blade in the Snow

A sinister chant of witchcraft rings in her ears like a demon's whisper. As warm blood runs across her palm, Feng Li opens her eyes to find her dagger buried deep in her father's heart. Watching him collapse, she lets out a scream of utter despair. The moment her mother orders her imprisoned in the Cold Palace, Feng Li knows her life has ended on her fifteenth birthday. When she sees daylight again, she is no longer a fallen princess but the newly enthroned empress—her name steeped in infamy, reviled by all. She cares little for the scorn, indulging in pleasure and excess, her smile seductive and unrestrained. During the imperial consort selection, Feng Li's gaze locks onto Yun Moxiao at first sight—she senses a kindred soul. Tracing the scar on his shoulder, she asks with a teasing smile, "They say I murdered my father and brought ruin upon my mother. Aren't you afraid of me?" He whispers at her lips, "If it pleases Your Majesty, my life is yours to take at any time." Their eyes meet—one glance, a lifetime. Old lovers reunite, yet everything has changed. Who would recognize them now as the princess of Wutong Kingdom and the heir of Fusang, once bound beneath the wutong tree by a vow of marriage and happiness? Now, she hides behind a carefully crafted facade, swearing to tear open a rift in this dark and corrupted world. He, having lain dormant for years in a death prison, carries the hatred of a fallen kingdom and has returned with a single purpose: to take her life. Inside and beyond the palace walls, danger lurks in every whisper, conspiracies breeding like ghosts. A lethal entanglement of love and assassination is about to erupt.